


Death by Marshmallow

by Bookeater2414



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Dragon!Byakuran, F/M, Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-05-07 12:32:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5456660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookeater2414/pseuds/Bookeater2414
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Dragons aren't real." Yuni is told this all her life by nearly every single person she meets, so why does one keep popping up in her life? And WHY, for the love of all things good in this world, does it seem to have an overwhelming obsession with marshmallows? Good thing she has the presence of mind to always have some handy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Time

_The first time I saw you, I was told you were a dream._

"Mama, why can't people fly?" my four-year old self asked from my patch of grass. I was playing with my older sister Aria in the meadow on the outskirts of our tiny village.

"Silly Yuni," Aria scolded. "People can't fly because we don't have wings like birds!"

I remained skeptical. Aria may have been six years older then me, but that didn't mean she knew everything. I turned to look at my mother Luce, who was curled up in the sun reading. Her long black hair swayed gently in the breeze, and she turned her deep blue eyes towards me and smiled.

"That's true, Ari," she said, "But it's also because humans are too heavy to fly, even if we did have wings. We're made differently than birds."

I frowned, pondering her answer. Thinking back to the picture book I had once seen from a passing traveler, I tilted my head and said, "But dragons're really big, and theyc'n still fly."

Aria laughed as Mama shook her head in exasperation. "Yes, but dragons aren't real, sweetie." 

 _Dragons aren't real?_  "But the book talked about 'em, and books are always true."

Mama chuckled and closed her own book. Laying it aside, she crawled over to me and said softly, "Not all books Yuni, not all books. Now come on, we need to head back home for lunch." 

I raised my arms for her to pick me up, and together with Aria we ran across the meadow back home.

* * *

Later that afternoon while she was doing the laundry, Mama remembered that she'd left her book in the meadow.

"Aria, can you run back outside and get my book please?" she called. "I left it where we were this morning."

"I'm in the middle of the dishes, Mama!"

I ran over to Mama and tugged on her skirt. 

"I can do it, Mama!" I puffed out my chest impressively. "I'm a big girl."

Mama smiled. "Alright Yuni, but be very quick. If you're not back in ten minutes I'm coming to get you."

Laughing excitedly, I ran out the door. "Don't worry, I will be!"

It took some time to find the book, and when I did I nearly ran back to Mama crying hysterically because of the giant grasshopper sitting on it. But then it jumped off, and I cautiously approached the book before snatching it away and turning back towards my house.

Suddenly, a great shadow passed over me. Glancing up, my mouth fell open upon seeing a great winged figure soaring above my head. 

 _That looks just like the dragon in the book!_  I thought in wonder. Craning my neck to get a good look at it, I was forced to shield my eyes from the afternoon light reflecting off its shiny scales. Before I knew it, the dragon had been reduced to a mere speck in the blazing sky before it vanished entirely.

I bolted home as fast as my tiny feet could carry me. Bursting through the door, I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Mama! Mama! I saw one! They're real, they're real, I saw one!"

"Saw what?"

My father Reborn was sitting in the living room with Mama and was looking at me curiously. 

I jumped onto his lap and beamed at him. "A dragon!"

Papa raised an eyebrow. "A dragon, you say? And when was this?"

"Just now, outside in the meadow. It was HUGE and it was flying really fast."

Mama sighed. "Yuni, I told you earlier, dragons aren't real. Don't make things up."

"But I'm not!" I protested.

Papa chuckled as he ruffled my hair affectionately. "Ah, let her dream, why don't you? I honestly prefer a dragon to a unicorn or something equally feminine."

My lower lip stuck out in a pout. "I'm not dreaming. I saw a dragon and it was real."

"Dreams are real too, sweetie," Mama said, smiling.

"But..."

"Alright, that's enough about dragons," Papa announced as he swept me into the air. I shrieked before bursting into giggles. "You and I, Yuni-cutie, are overdue for a game of hide-and-seek."

"Hide-and-seek!" I yelled before wriggling out of Papa's grasp and shooting down the hall. 

* * *

Over the next few weeks, I tried to bring up the dragon multiple times, but each time my account would be brushed off as wishful thinking, overactive imagination, or most often, a dream. After a while, I heard it so much that I began to believe that it had been a figment of my imagination as well.

_After all, dragon's aren't real, are they?_

And then I saw you a second time.


	2. The Second Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'd just like to thank those of you who are actually bothering to read this. I mean, for the amount of time I'm spending on this (which is a tad on the ridiculous side), I want people to see and enjoy the fruits of my labor.
> 
> Also, one reviewer pointed out that Reborn seemed OOC in the first chapter. My response is thus: Parenthood changes people. So does growing up with a legitimate and complete family. All the characters in the story will have different lives than in canon, and that will impact them. However, I will try to keep them as in character as much as possible, and hopefully this will show as the story progresses.
> 
> Now, without further ado~

 

_The second time I saw you, they thought I was mad._

"Aw Papa, please don't make me do this," I whined plaintively as I was escorted up the steps of the sinister looking boarding school that was Namimori Middle.

When I had turned eight years old, my parents decided that they wanted me to receive a higher education than Aria had. Our tiny village was decently enough equipped when it came to survival, but it was sorely lacking in terms of education. The last math teacher had died a year ago, and there was no one to replace him or any of the other rapidly diminishing teachers. Rather than trying to homeschool me for the next ten years, Mama and Papa settled on sending me to Namimori Academy, a prestigious boarding school for children with higher than average intelligence secluded in the lonely Millefiore mountains.

My father sighed. "Yuni..."

"I mean, Aria was mostly homeschooled and she was just fine..." My voice trailed off as he turned the full force of his formidable glare upon me.

"Argue with me again and I'll leave you here for good," Reborn warned.

Sometimes I think my father is a demon in disguise, or maybe a member of the mafia. He certainly has the temperament for it.

Grumbling discontentedly, I stomped into the main hall behind my father, who was pulling my pitiful luggage for me. The inside was relatively cool-a boon in the sweltering early September heat-but I had a nasty feeling that the stone floor and walls would not be contributing any semblance of warmth during the colder months.

There was a nervous young man with reddish-orange hair and spectacles sitting behind the glass panel in the reception office. The name sign near the window read, "Shoichi Irie, Secretary."

My father cleared his throat as we approached. "I'd like to register my daughter, Yuni Nero, for third grade attendance."

The secretary jumped. "Wha- um, s-sorry, right away sir! Nero, was it?" Papa nodded.

"Alright...here you are, Yuni Nero, age eight, third grade. Hey, you're a lucky one-you get your own room!" He gave me a small smile. "Not many students get those. There are actually only three single rooms for students in this entire establishment."

If he thought that would make me happy, he was sorely mistaken. I'd always shared a room with Aria at home, and the thought of sleeping alone in a strange place made me want curl up in a ball in my mother's lap.

Shoichi saw the dismay on my face. "But if you don't want your own room, I'm sure we can arrange to switch with someone," he added hastily.

"Don't be ridiculous," my father snapped. "If that's the room she was assigned, then that's the room she'll take. She needs to learn to work with the hand she's dealt."

"Y-yes sir!" the poor secretary squeaked in fright. He fumbled with something in a drawer before removing a small key and exiting the office. He beckoned timidly for us to follow him. "This way, please. Your room is on the top floor."

He scurried up a winding flight of stairs that seemed to go on forever (I later found out that there were six floors) until we reached a small landing. At the end of the hall there was a pristine white door that was bare except for a small plaque that read, "Room 6C" and underneath it a smaller, shinier plaque that read, "Nero, Yuni."

Shoichi Irie unlocked the door and stood back. "This will be your room from now on. You won't be able to lock it, but if you need anything, just let me or one of the staff know. I'll come and get you in about an hour for the reception meeting in the main hall, so use this time to settle yourself in." He flashed another small smile at me. "It was good to meet you, miss Nero. I hope you enjoy your time with us here at Namimori Academy." With that, he turned and left.

My father raised an eyebrow. "What are you waiting for? Go in."

Swallowing, I nodded and pushed open the door, revealing a cozy little room illuminated by a small, dusty window on the east wall. Underneath it lay a twin mattress on a wooden bed frame that had seen better days with various blankets, pillows, and sheets piled atop it. The floor was covered in a worn scarlet rug, and overhead a single bulb dangled from an ornate light fixture. Aside from the solitary window, the stone walls were entirely bare.

I wrinkled my nose. "I have to live in here for how long?"

"Don't be like that, Yuni," Papa said, delicately placing my luggage at the foot of the bed. "It's not a bad room, and you'll come home for holidays."

I'd been avoiding crying for days, but now my eyes were flooded with tears. Maybe it was because this hadn't seemed real until I realized that my father was heading towards the door.

"Wait!"

I darted towards Papa and threw myself at him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist and wanting to never have to let go.

"Please don't make me do this," I mumbled into his shirt. "I don't wanna be alone, I wanna stay with you and Mama and Ari-"

"Yuni-cutie," Papa's deep voice hummed in his chest. Gently he pried me off him and, kneeling, held my small hands in his own. "I love you and so does Mama, and that's why we're doing this. We don't want to send you away, but it's the best for you. At home we can't offer you much, but here you can truly grow and become the greatest person you can be. And I know that _my_ daughter will be the greatest of the great."

I sniffed. "Really?"

"Really." He released my hands and rose, walking towards the door. Then with one hand on the doorknob, he paused and looked back at me.

"Now do me proud, Yuni Nero." He pulled the brim of his fedora low over his face before turning and and closing the door behind him with a click.

For a moment I stood in stunned silence before collapsing on the bed. As I stared at my new room, I felt a wave of grief well up in me, and I began to cry.

* * *

One hour later, after I had calmed down and cleaned myself up, Shoichi returned and escorted me to the main hall. My stomach felt like someone had tossed a jar full of butterflies in it, and the feeling only intensified when we walked in. Hundreds of people crowded around in massive groups, turning their heads to stare at me. I came from a tiny village and had never seen so many people before. Forget butterflies- my stomach now contained a nest of snakes. I wanted to throw up.

The secretary seated me at the edge of the table nearest to the door before leaving. Several students looked as if they wanted to speak to me, but before they could a sudden hush swept over the hall.

I waited for someone to stand up and start talking, but nothing happened. Frowning, I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but an older girl sitting next to me cut me off with a hiss.

"Shut up! Do you want to die?"

Now more confused than ever, I swallowed my words and instead peered over the multitude of heads trying to see what they were all staring at.

At the head of the hall, there were several steps leading up to a raised platform. In the center of it was a grand and elaborately carved throne-like chair. Seated upon it in a leisurely fashion was a bronze-skinned man with raven black hair that had several multicolored feathers and-was that a raccoon tail?-attached to it under his left ear. However, his most striking feature was that of a great scar covering the left side of his face.

 _Please, please, please don't tell me that that's our principal,_ I prayed silently.

He looked us all over once with a disdainful expression before closing his eyes and and grunting, "Great. More trash."

Not a single word was uttered in response to this. Perhaps they were used to this sort of treatment? My palms began to sweat.

"VOOOOOOI!"

Several students jumped in their seats as a rough voice yelled. It belonged to a young man with waist-length straight silver hair and a sharklike grin on his face. He sauntered over to the edge of the platform.

"I see new faces here, so listen up!" he barked. "I'm Professor Squalo. Remember it. This here's the boss, Professor Xanxus." He jerked his thumb at the man sitting on the throne. "Here're a couple tips. Don't piss him off-you'll die. Don't piss _me_ off-you'll die.

"Speaking of dying, there's a major rule here at Namimori: Don't kill each other. That means a shitload of paperwork for us, and that puts the boss in a REAL bad mood. And trust me, you brats don't want that.

"One more thing. Don't go beyond the school borders into the mountains. They are expressly forbidden for multiple reasons, and if you're caught there, it means instant expulsion.

"Everything else you need to know you'll find in the handbooks that're gonna be given out in a few minutes. Returning students don't have to take 'em."

With that, Professor Squalo spun around and marched off the stage. It appeared that Professor Xanxus had fallen asleep, or was actively ignoring the rest of the world.

The hall once again filled with the buzz of talk. A man with a high-pitched voice and rectangular spectacles walked in between the rows of seats, calling out student's names and handing out folders. Every now and then I would lose sight of him in the crowd, but it was astonishingly easy to find him again due to his ridiculous green and red mohawk that stuck up nearly half a foot over his head.

He approached me with a smile on his face. "Yuni Nero, right?" he inquired.

I nodded.

"Here you go dear," he said, handing me a blue folder. "This is your handbook with all the information you need to know about Namimori."

I nodded again.

"Oh, a shy one!" chuckled the colorful man. "Well don't worry dear, Professor Lussuria is always happy to help you if you need it." He wandered off to distribute more folders.

All around me people were walking around, chatting with friends, or reading the handbooks. I, on the other hand, could only sit in stupefied disbelief.

 _This_ was the school that Mama and Papa sent me to? The great Namimori Academy that was supposed to make me great? _Crackpots for teachers, an apparently homicidal principal, and..._ My eyebrows rose as I glanced briefly at the course guide. _Intensive physical training classes?_

Maybe this was all a nightmare. Maybe I was still at home in my bed in my room with Aria, and I'd wake up to find that everything was normal and I wouldn't have to leave.

In an attempt to try and test my theory, I pinched my leg repeatedly (to no avail) before staring out the great windows on the side of the hall in misery.

 _I'm going to be beaten into a pulp here,_ I fretted. _None of the extra tutoring that Mama and Papa gave me are going to help here. I'm gonna come home in a body bag._

Regardless of my impending doom, I had to admit that it was a nice view from the hall. The school was nestled in a great rocky outcropping about a thousand feet up the mountain, and I could see the grassy fields and trees and lakes below, as well as the white dragon flying over them.

My heart stopped.

_No way._

It was impossible. Dragons did not exist, and the one I'd seen as a little girl had been a dream.

So why was I looking at it again?

Ignoring the people around me, I jumped to my feet faster than I thought possible and started leaping from table to table in an effort to get to the widow so I could see the dragon more clearly. I was dimly aware of people crying out in shock and yelling at me to stop, but I didn't care.

I reached the window and pressed my face against it, straining to see the mythological creature, but I'd lost sight of it in my mad scramble to get there. However, this time I was certain that the dragon was real. Somebody else must have seen it.

I turned to face the students who were staring at me warily. "Did you see that?" I asked breathlessly.

"Um, see what?" A girl asked.

"The- the dragon!" I pointed frantically in the direction I'd seen it.

There was a moment of silence before someone asked, "Are you okay, kid?"

"I think she's a newbie."

"Well, _I've_ never seen her before."

"Nutty as a squirrel, that one."

"Stress probably got to her."

"Are you fucking kidding me? _This_ is the kind of riffraff they let into this place now?"

The last remark came from an older boy with a nasty expression on his face. His surrounding cronies guffawed as he walked up to me and stuck his nose in my face, his breath reeking of onion.

"Namimori's a school for _real_ kids who're gonna be the elite of the next generation, not some puny baby that's stupid enough t'still believe in dragons," he snarled.

Fear and mortification rooted me to the spot. My mind was a jumble of semi-coherent thoughts and blind panic. "I-I'm sorry..." I stuttered.

"Sorry?" the boy echoed scornfully. "What a joke! You're not gonna last a week here before somebody beats the shit outta you."

"I'm not..." A small part of me, the part that I inherited from Papa, wanted to stand up for myself and argue with him, but it was dwarfed by the overwhelming cowardice that was the rest of me. For the second time that day, I found tears flooding my eyes, and I fled the scene as fast as my legs could carry me. As I ran, I could hear the boy scoff to his friends, "AND she's a crybaby too! What the hell? This school's gotta be fucking insane to let her in!"

My knowledge of the school's layout was extremely limited, so I ran to the only place I knew how to find-my room. I was lucky I could find even that, but Papa had trained me to always be observant of my surroundings in an unfamiliar setting.

The thought of my father weighed on my heart like a lump of lead, and I started to sob. I never even made it to my room, but instead collapsed on the stairs midway up the fifth floor. I don't know how long I sat there, but I don't think it was very long.

The sound of footsteps on the stone floor jerked me out of my haze of despair, and I looked up through watery eyes to see another older boy standing in front of one was perhaps three or four year older than me. He was tall, with blond hair that looked gelled and dark eyes.

"What d'you want?" I mumbled.

"You're the new girl, right?" he asked in a friendly manner. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for what those guys did back there."

"You- huh?"

"We're not all like that. It's just a few of them that are jerks."

"Um..."

"And don't you worry, just because you're small doesn't mean you won't do fine here," he added hurriedly. "A lot of the kids come pint-sized, and they turn out to be some of the best."

I stared at him. "Seriously?"

He smiled at me. It was a nice smile, that kind that made you feel better just by seeing it. "You bet."

I gave him a watery smile in return. "Thanks."

The boy sat down next to me on the step. "For the record, I don't think you're insane for seeing a dragon."

Seeing my skeptical expression, he chuckled. "It's not that weird, you know. The world's a strange place, and these mountains are even stranger. I wouldn't be surprised if there actually was a dragon living here or something. And with teachers like ours, even if you were crazy, you'd still be remarkably normal compared to them."

I giggled nervously. "They wouldn't really kill one of us, would they?"

He frowned. "I haven't seen anything like that, but with the psycho things that go on here, I guess anything could happen."

My mouth seemed very dry all of a sudden.

"Don't worry though, I'll protect you if anything bad happens. I'm Gamma, by the way. What's your name?"

"Yuni, Yuni Nero."

Gamma held out his hand. "That's a nice name. So what do you say, Yuni? Do you want to be my friend?"

As I took in what he was saying, some of the heaviness on my heart started to dissipate.

"Yeah!"

* * *

Some people may have thought I was insane for saying I saw a dragon that chaotic first day, but I knew that I wasn't.

Because then I saw you a third time.

 


	3. The Third Time

**A/N: While writing this, I realized three things: One- I absolutely detest writing in first person. I am never doing this again. Two- I enjoy writing descriptions waaay to much. They're kinda important though, so don't skip 'em. And three- I am not a very good writer, but I do it anyway. Humans are truly strange creatures.**

**Anyway, enjoy~**

 

* * *

 

_The third time I saw you, you saved my life._

Over the next four years, I learned a lot about the place known as Namimori Academy. While I love my parents very much, I became rather cross with them when I found out that they had neglected to mention the fact that they were sending me to a school known for producing spies, hitmen, and professional bodyguards. The temptation to flee from the school on foot was almost irresistible when I found out. 

"Sorry Gamma, but what did you just say?"

"I said you're going to need to learn how to fire a gun if you want to survive Prof. Xanxus's class," he repeated slowly.

My eyes were ready to pop out of their sockets. "W-what does that mean? This a  _school_ , not some kind of mafia training grounds!"

Gamma hesitated. "Well, strictly speaking, no, but over the years it's sort of become like that. The academy doesn't care what side of the law you're on after you graduate, as long as you don't break it while you're here." 

"That's crazy."

"A little, but we're used to it."

"How do I learn to fire a gun? Is there a class for it?"

My blond friend laughed. "Hell no. They expect you to figure the basics out on your own."

I gulped. "And if I don't?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Then I guess you'd better be  _really_  good at dodging."

Moaning miserably, I buried my face in my hands. "I think my parents need their heads examined for sending me here."

"I'm sure they knew what they were doing," he said.

"So did I, until I heard about this."

"You know, for all intents and purposes, it's really just a school. With a couple unique classes and teachers."

 _Unique_  was one way to describe them.  _Completely batshit insane and suicidal_  worked equally well in my opinion.

Science was taught by Professor Levi, a tall, dark-skinned man with an obsession with marine life. Technically he was supposed to be teaching all sciences, but he had a habit of bringing out his pet electric sting ray, Livya, and showing it off. Repeatedly. (To be honest, I'm not sure I ever got to learn more that a couple hours worth of chemistry--but I'll have you know I was more well-versed in marine biology than your average aquarium guide.) The man was also obsessed with Professor Xanxus to an almost creepy level, nearly beating the stuffing out of another teacher for slighting the principal.

History was a rather intense class taught by the skinny blond Professor Bel (who, for the record, had one of the most disturbing laughs to date). He was a very good teacher, but, like Professor Levi, tended to drift off topic. At random moments in class he would remind us loudly that he was "a prince of royal blood, and you will treat me as such!" after which he would go through his family history. He also liked to play with knives, flinging them at students who didn't pay close enough attention to his lectures, and there was a rumor that he had killed his own brother out of sheer boredom.

Math was hell. That's all there really was to it. Professor Squalo was in charge, and he let you know it. Unlike the aforementioned teachers, he took his job seriously and drilled more formulas and equations into our heads than we knew what to do with. He was extremely loud, yelling instructions when we didn't understand them (it didn't help) and hurling bits of chalk at us when he got annoyed (which was often). One time he even sliced a girl's desk in half when she was talking while he taught with a sword that he seemed to pull out of nowhere. (There's another rumor floating around that it was attached to his arm, but I personally thought that it was ridiculous. I mean, if it was, then how would he get dressed or take a shower?) Surprisingly, though, if you needed help he would always make time for you, no matter how hopeless you were. I think I learned more in math than any other class (despite it being one of my least favorite subjects), but over the years I learned to fear the rough cry of "VOI!!!" 

English was...strange. It was taught by Professer Mammon, a short, slim person that always wore a purple cloak with the hood raised so that it covered half the face. I say  _person_ because for the life of me I could not figure out Professor Mammon's gender. It was a popular subject of heated debate among the students. Some claimed that they heard another teacher refer the to Professor as a male, while others said that the Professor was female. I personally was of the opinion that she was a woman, as her voice was rather high and light, and her figure was somewhat feminine. For years, students have been attempting to discover her sex, but to no avail. I heard that one boy that actually got into her rooms, but was found the next day hanging from a tree branch jutting out the side of a cliff and upon being rescued, left the school and was never heard from again.

Regardless of her gender, however, she was an effective teacher, albeit a strange one. You were required to pay a toll to enter the classroom, and the only way to get an assignment or test graded was to pay another fee. She was happy to tutor you in an area you needed help with, but you had to pay an exorbitant amount to be blessed by her presence. Despite the ridiculous amount of money required to pass that class, however, I always had enough, namely due to the fact that Papa always sent me an allowance large enough to fend off Professor Mammon's nearly insatiable greed. It's almost like Papa knew I would need that money.

She also had strange quirk where she would, for lack of a better description, cast an illusion on the classroom that would have the students using their textbooks as tissues, eating their backpacks, and writing on their own clothes. I had no idea how she did it (some sort of hallucinogenic in the air, perhaps?) but all I know is that, like with Professor Bel, I didn't want to be within half a mile of her when she was bored. 

Mechanical and Computer science was taught by Professor Spanner. He was normal enough (who am I kidding--compared to the others he was downright boring), with blond hair and a soft voice that never rose above a shout. He nearly always had a pair of goggles perched on his head and you would be hard-pressed to find him without a lollipop in his mouth. In addition, he was a complete genius. However, he was also a scatterbrain, often forgetting projects halfway and moving on to different ones. Half the time he forgot that he was even teaching a class, and would start taking out grenades and miniature missiles and begin tinkering with them. I lost count of how many times we were forced to evacuate the floor because one of his experiments exploded.

P.E was under the tutelage of the flamboyant Professor Lussuria, and I hated that class almost as much as I hated chopped liver (and God did I hate liver). Nearly any type of physical exertion you can think of, he made us do. The first week of that class I was convinced I was going to die from exhaustion and/or physical torture. The second week I thought if I didn't die of natural causes, I might just off myself instead if it meant never taking that class again. The third week I only survived because Gamma was a blessing from heaven and gave me a special ointment that soothed my aching muscles. Professor Lussuria was ruthless, too, never taking pity on anyone for slacking off or collapsing from effort. And even as he beat us into the dirt, he would do it with a bright smile on his face and declare that we needed to "be more his type." I never wanted to find out what that meant. I didn't consider myself a violent person (in fact, I abhorred violence. Mankind was born with a tongue for a reason--we should use it), but there were times that even I wanted to punch his stupid sunglasses off his sickeningly cheerful face. 

And then there was the most dreaded class of them all: Survival. 

I had not known the true meaning of fear until I walked into that class.There he was, lounging upon his throne in relaxed manner with his eyes closed. I could almost taste the tension in the air coming off the students as we waited for something to happen. Then, without opening his eyes, Professor Xanxus grunted, "Get me some food."

We looked at each other, unsure if he was serious. One boy got up and nervously approached the seemingly dozing teacher. He held out a small cracker.

"Is this alright, sir?" he asked timidly.

Professor Xanxus cracked open one eye and glared at the cracker. The next thing we knew, there was a loud  _smack!_  and the poor boy was on the floor across with room with a furious Professor Xanxus standing over him. We exchanged awed glances. None of us had ever seen anyone move that fast; it was like the principal had been made of lightning for a moment.

"What the fuck was that?" His voice was a low, guttural growl filled with rage. "You call that shit food?"

The poor boy could only tremble in terror at Professor Xanxus's feet. The rest of us held our breaths and tried not to make a sound, in fear of drawing the man's attention.

Professor Xanxus glowered at the boy for a moment longer before turning to us. 

"Get this in your thick skulls, trash," he said. "When I say I want food, I mean real food. Not this shit." He gestured dismissively at the cracker on the floor. "You get me beef. And real liquor, not some dog's piss. If you take too long, I'll kill you all."

It took all my willpower not to faint clean away on the spot.

In survival class, we learned several valuable lessons. For starters, do everything Professor Xanxus said as soon as possible down to the last detail. There was a girl who one time brought him the wrong type of meat, and she was in the infirmary for a month afterwards.

Stealth was an essential in that class, because the one time we accidentally woke the professor up from his nap he destroyed the entire floor, and it took weeks to repair. 

(Sometimes Professor Squalo liked to be evil and line the floor with bubble wrap and tinfoil before we arrived. As if our lives weren't bad enough.)

We also learned how to be incredibly swift on our feet, constantly dodging the random projectiles hurled at us by the irritable teacher. Fortunately, I was always rather nimble.

One day we walked in to find a pile of handguns on a desk. This was the moment I'd been dreading, ever since Gamma had told me about it. The thought of firing a gun made me want to cry, but I didn't have a choice in the matter. None of us did. It was either we hit the target by the time class was over, or we would become the targets _._  And Professor Xanxus's guns were a lot scarier.

There were many times I contemplated complaining to my parents when I came home for holidays and describing the (surely illegal) events that transpired at my school, but something would always stop me. Maybe it was the thought that Mama and Papa must have known what they were doing when they sent me to Namimori (although for the life of me I could not fathom why), or simply the memory of Papa telling me that I was  _his_ daughter and I would be the best of the best. And the best did not complain, no matter how harsh the conditions.

And so, over the years, I endured. After a while I actually began to enjoy myself, making more friends and even establishing relationships with some of the teachers.

Gamma was the best of friends that anyone could ask for, and for a time I practically worshiped him. He was everything that I wanted in an older brother, and I trusted him implicitly. 

I really had as normal a life as one could have at Namimori Academy, except for one thing. Ever since that first day, I could not forget the dragon.

Namimori had a rather extensive library, and so over time I would pore over every book on dragon myth and lore I could find. As a result, I accumulated a vast amount of knowledge pertaining to dragons, but never found anything that suggested that they might be real. However, nobody could persuade me this time that what I had seen was a figment of my imagination, for I was old enough to tell the difference between waking and dreaming. And the dragon, I knew, was no dream.

Finally, when I was twelve, I received proof.

* * *

Not far to the east of Namimori Academy, there was a great waterfall that plunged directly down into the valley at the base of the mountain. It had no official name, but the students called it the Cascade. The river that fed it was the Singing River, also known as the River Song. It flowed through a great crevice that spanned over twenty feet. The attendees of Namimori often had to cross from one side to the other in order to reach their P.E class, which tended to include survival tracks. 

I had attended Namimori Academy for four years now, but when it came to physical education, my being twelve gave no more an advantage than I had when I was eight. Professor Lussuria had at some point in his life come to the conclusion that building up muscle required constant repetition of Thai martial arts in a clear area with fresh air. However, for a class that included multiple grades at a time, the only available place that met those requirements was a clearing on the other side of the River Song.

P.E was a required class for all students every day, so there was a constant stream of people crossing the flimsy wooden bridge. Gamma said that students kept petitioning for the faculty (namely, Professor Squalo) to install a more secure one, but were always given the same barking reply: "We haven't got the budget. And anyways, it's good for you brats! Makes you grow a spine."

Sadist.  _He_ never had to cross that thing.

One day in the early spring, we had a free period before P.E, and I had taken the opportunity to raid the student snack supply beforehand. (I thought I deserved it in light of the torturous class I would have to endure next period.) Munching happily on a bag of marshmallows, I decided to head over to the clearing early so that I wouldn't have to fight my way across the bridge to get there later on.

It was a very windy day, so I bundled up prior to heading out into the bitter chill. It may have been March, but we were still lucky if the temperature rose above freezing.

As I approached the bridge, I could see that across the chasm several of my fellow classmates had had the same idea as I did and were already waiting. Gamma was also there, and waved at me. Waving back, I started to cross the bridge before stopping apprehensively. 

The wind had picked up, and the rope bridge with its wooden slates was being tossed violently to and fro, making in nearly impossible to get on it. Clutching my bag of marshmallows to my chest, I grabbed hold of the rope with my other hand and began to slowly make my way across.

Getting across took nearly all my concentration. It would have been easier with both hands free, but those marshmallows had cost me ten dollars, and there was no way I was letting go of them. (Naturally, the school jacket didn't have pockets. Who makes jackets without pockets?)

However, I was terrible at multitasking, so when I focused on crossing the bridge I tuned out everything else around me, including my classmates. As a result, I didn't hear their cries of warning until the bridge jerked sharply.

_"YUNI!"_

_Snap!_

For an instant, I didn't even process what had happened. To me, it seemed like one moment I'd been making my way slowly but steadily across the bridge, and the next Gamma was screaming my name and the world was blurring around me and I was plunging down towards the raging River Song.

Then I understood what had happened. The rope had snapped in the fierce wind, and I had fallen. I knew I was going to die, but I was oddly calm as the world rushed by me in a multitude of colors.

I silently said goodbye to my parents, Aria, Gamma, my teachers, and all my friends. I hoped they wouldn't be sad for long--they still had so much else in life. It was a shame that I would die so young though; I'd really wanted to graduate, get a job, marry, have kids of my own... And yet, even then, my greatest regret was that I'd never gotten to properly meet the--

_Dragon._

My vision was filled with white before something hit me and I was flying to the side. Blinking, I tried to figure out what was going on, and realized that I wasn't falling anymore. There was a pressure around my entire body, and everything surrounding me was white, white, white. Then I looked up.

I was staring the underbelly of a great white beast the must have been the size of a small house. My eyes followed the graceful curve of the great neck upwards before they settled upon what was unmistakably the head of a dragon. Unfortunately, the sun was shining directly overhead, and I couldn't make out any details.   

There was loud piercing noise ringing through the air, and my throat hurt. Closing my mouth that I hadn't even noticed was open, I realized that I had been screaming at the top of my lungs since I fell.

So much for being calm.

My brain scrambled around, frantically trying to understand what was happening. I had fallen, and the dragon ( _oh God the_ dragon _it was here and it was real_ ) must have flown by and caught me in its claws ( _I was touching a dragon I was touching a real live dragon and I was flying_ ).

The dragon had swooped low to catch me, and as a result it almost dove directly into the river. It was so close before it pulled up that I felt the spray of the water on my face. We were going so fast that my face felt like it was going to be blown off, if it wasn't frozen first. 

We flew low over the river until we reached the cliff. Then the dragon, instead of pulling up into the sky as I thought it would, dove down the Cascade at breakneck speed.

Heart in my throat, I began to scream bloody murder once more and clutched at the great claws holding me for dear life. My long black hair was whipping all around my face, and everything seemed to be one giant whirl of color and noise. To me, the only thing that was real and concrete right then was that claw holding me safely in its grip. 

Suddenly it loosened, and I tumbled out of it with an even louder shriek before hitting the ground with a thump.

For what seemed like an eternity, I could only lie there, stunned. Then my breathing started again, and I realized that I was on blessed solid ground. We had reached the bottom of the waterfall, and the dragon must have dropped me on the riverbank. Scrambling to my feet, I scanned the skies for my winged savior, but only in time to see the tip of its tail vanish over the edge of the trees.

Breathing hard, I stared at the spot I'd last seen the dragon before my knees buckled and I collapsed. My mind, so cluttered and panicked as I'd fallen, was now blank. I had just almost died, and then been saved with only seconds to spare by a dragon. I knew that my head should have been teeming with questions, but for then I could only sit on the ground and shake.

Something fluttered down from the sky and landed on the ground in front of me. Hands trembling, I reached out and picked it up. It was my bag of marshmallows that I'd dropped as I fell.

It was empty.

I frowned, sure that there had been a good half a bag left before I fell, and they couldn't  _all_  have came out when I dropped it. And anyway, it had fallen over the river, so how could it be here, nearly half a mile a away?

My fingers traced the edges of the bag, and I felt that they were torn. Examining them more closely, it looked to me as if something very sharp had neatly ripped it open. The tears were also the perfect size for the tip of a dragon claw.

_That dragon ate my marshmallows._

I laughed hysterically until there were tears in my eyes.

 

* * *

 

Once I collected myself, it took me about an two hours to climb back to the school. When I walked in, there was a moment of silence as everyone stared at me in shock before the room erupted.

I lost track of how many people asked me how I had survived, but I told them all the same thing: I'd gotten snagged on a branch jutting out from the wall of the ravine and had managed to climb back up. Fortunately, no one had seen what happened to me after I fell, so despite the ludicrosity of my explanation, everyone accepted it without question. 

Well, almost everyone.

Later that evening as I sat in my room in a sort of happy daze, Gamma came in to see me.

"How're you doing?" he asked.

"Great," I chirped in reply.

He sat down next to me on my bed. "You know, you seem kind of cheerful for someone who almost died today."

I grinned. "Emphasis on  _almost,_  Gam."

My friend shook his head in amusement. He was silent for a moment before saying quietly, "You really scared me, Yuni. I thought you were dead."

My eyes widened in shock. Gamma, scared? Impossible. "Don't be silly."

"I'm serious. Those were the worst hours of my life."

"Really?"

He nodded. "The thought of losing you, it...I..." his voice shook. 

I was so shocked at seeing Gamma, the boy I looked up to, on the verge of tears that I did the only thing that occurred to me and wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace. 

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Gamma stiffened in surprise before returning the hug, holding me tightly. "Just don't do it again," he murmured into my hair. 

We remained like that for a little while before Gamma let go, and we both sat quietly, lost in our thoughts.

Then Gamma broke the silence.

"Yuni, how did you say you survived, again?"

"I, um, got caught on a branch...why?"

He gave me a flat stare _._  "Yuni, you fell in center of a chasm that's over twenty feet wide. And the walls are solid rock--there aren't any branches for you to get caught on."

Heat flooded my face. Was my lie really that transparent? I was even more amazed that people had actually bought it. 

"Er..."

"What I don't get is, why do feel like you have to lie? It's not like you'll get in trouble for surviving," he pressed.

I stared at my knees and mumbled, "People wouldn't believe me."

Gamma laughed. "Yuni, you always tell the truth. The last time someone didn't believe you was when you said that you saw a..." he trailed off.

Nearly as solid minute passed as he gazed at the walls of my room. When I had first arrived they had been completely bare, but after I saw the dragon on my first day, I had drawn hundreds of pictures of the being that flew through my dreams, and taped them to the stones. Now, as Gamma looked at them, his mouth opened slightly as he realized that the answer was staring him in the face.

"No way," he breathed.

I nodded happily. "Yup!"

"That's not--I didn't think--"

"Well, if makes you feel better, I wasn't entirely sure either until I was actually being held in its claws."

He gaped at me, flabbergasted. "You were in its  _claws?_ "

I told him everything except for the part about my marshmallows--I wasn't sure if I was imagining things or not.

Little did I know that in another four years, I would know the answer.

For then I saw you a fourth time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Clasps hands in supplication* Pleeeeease review...


	4. The Fourth Time

_The fourth time I saw you, I broke into your home._

"Ouch!" I yelped. "Please be careful, Ari."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, adjusting her grip on the needle. "I've only done this a couple times before."

Aria and I were alone in our house, sitting in the kitchen as my sister gave me my first tattoo. On our sixteenth birthdays, the women of the Nero family had a long-standing tradition of receiving a small orange flower tattoo beneath our left eyes. I wasn't really sure where the tradition came from, but I vaguely remember Mama telling me a story about it being the symbol of a seer, and our ancestor Sepira.

I was terrified of needles, so there was no way I was going to tattoo myself. Thank God I had a wonderful sister who was actually knew how to give a tattoo and was willing.

"Ow!"

"You know, this would be a lot easier if you'd stop flinching."

"I'm sorry! I can't help it-I hate needles, and it does hurt."

"Don't be a sissy," Aria scolded, wiping away some extra ink with a rag. "From what you've told me, you go through a lot worse at that school of yours."

Eyes tightly closed, I fidgeted with the arm of the worn chair I was sitting on. "Yeah, but they don't use needles."

My sister rolled her eyes before returning to my face. Now almost twenty-two, Aria had blossomed into a true beauty. She wore her ebony hair straight down to her shoulders with the sides braided and pinned in the back, and had a smile like sunshine. The orange flower tattoo under her eye brought out the deep blue in her eyes that contrasted beautifully with her cream-colored skin. I couldn't help but be slightly envious of her beauty, as I didn't think I would ever be that pretty.

I bit my lip. I needed something to fill up this silence and distract me from the needle poking my face, so I asked the first thing that popped into my head.

"Have you got a boyfriend yet, Ari?"

Her hands never faltered in their steady movements. "What makes you ask?"

I gave a slight shrug. "I was thinking about how pretty you are and that you probably have guys flocking to you left and right."

"Don't be ridiculous," she laughed. "I've had a couple people ask me now and then, but nobody's _flocking_ to me." She pulled back and gave me a wry look. "But if you must know, I do have a boyfriend."

"Are you serious?" I gasped. "For how long?"

"About a year now." Aria tilted my head to the right. Pursing her lips, she delicately poked the skin under my eye.

"What's his name? Where did you meet? What does he look like?" I couldn't seem to stop the flow of questions as they tumbled from my mouth. I so rarely saw my sister nowadays that every tidbit of information I could gather from her was like a precious jewel to me. However, she had a habit of clamming up whenever the conversation would turn to her personal life.

"You don't need to know everything, Yuni. I'll tell you when the time comes."

...Kind of like that.

"Now," she said, pushing up the sleeves of her loose red shirt. "Hold still while I finish this." Gripping my face tightly, she dabbed at the tattoo gently with several alcohol-soaked cotton balls. Once finished, she spread a thin layer of ointment over my cheek before bandaging it. "All done, Yu."

"Finally," I sighed happily. The whole process, while in reality only taking about a half hour, had seemed like an eternity to me. Heaving myself out of the chair, I stretched my stiff limbs and skipped over to the bathroom mirror. The white pad under my eye seemed to glow in the dim light from the open door, illuminating the left side of my face which was slightly swollen.

_I am never, ever getting another tattoo again_ , I thought absentmindedly as I tentatively poked the affected area. It throbbed slightly and I jerked my hand away.

I came back into the kitchen to find Aria washing the bowl that had held the ink for the tattoo. "Thank you for this, Ari," I said. "I don't want to know what Mama would say if I didn't get this done today."

"Probably something about how you disgraced the Nero name and Sepira would weep tears of blood of she saw you."

Scandalized, my eyes widened. "She wouldn't!"

Aria laughed. "I was joking, Yu." She shook her head, smiling. "You may be sixteen today, but you're still pretty gullible."

I plopped myself into a chair at the table. "Well, it's not like I see Mama very much anymore, so I wouldn't really know," I grumbled. "I mean, even when I do come home, both she and Papa are almost always out of the house."

"Well, they do have a lot of work," Aria said.

Work. That was always the excuse. I'd been home for two days and had yet to have a single meal with my parents. What kind of work kept them so busy that they couldn't even come home for dinner? "They never used to be out this often," I reminded her.

She tensed slightly. "They have to work harder because you're going to school," she replied stiffly. "They'll be home tonight for your cake."

_At least they'll be home for that._ I thought. _Maybe I'll actually have a decent conversation with them this time._ "Um, Aria, I think that bowl is clean," I said, pointing at it. She had been fiercely scrubbing it with rough, circular motions for a solid two minutes now.

"What? Oh, right," she mumbled, and rinsed it.

"Are you okay, Aria?" I asked. "You seem kinda out of it." _And ridiculously high-strung._ What had I said to set her off? I wanted to ask, but something told me not to.

"I'm fine, Yuni." Aria said as she dried the bowl and put it away. She turned back to me with a bright smile that seemed slightly forced. "So, are you still obsessed with dragons?" She sat down across from me.

Alarmed at the abrupt shift of topics, my tongue seemed to flounder for second. "I-it-what? Yeah, I mean, no! Well, maybe, a little..." I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Where did _that_ come from?"

If I didn't know better, I would have said that the look on Aria's face was one of smugness. "You're sixteen today, Yuni. I want to know if underneath this big girl sitting in front of me there's still that adorable little cutie-patootie that used to believe in dragons."

"Believing and obsessing are two different things."

"You didn't answer the question," Aria hummed cheerfully.

Memories of flying over a rushing river and an empty bag of marshmallows played in my head. Another four years may have passed since I last saw the dragon, but the experience was still as fresh in my mind as if it had happened last week. "I guess you could say I'm still obsessed with them, yeah," I admitted.

"That's so _cute!_ "Aria squealed, clapping her hands together. "Maybe I should get you another stuffed dragon for your birthday."

I cringed. "Ari, I already have enough to fill my decently-sized closet. I'm gonna run out of places to put them." For the past twelve years, practically everyone I knew had been buying me stuffed dragons for my birthday. And Christmas. (One time I even got a mini-dragon statue for Hanukkah.) Even Gamma, once he discovered the depths my obsession, would give me necklaces and bracelets with little dragon charms on them.

"Mmm, still..." Her face was slightly dreamy. "It's so unbelievably cute that you still love dragons. I was really worried that you'd outgrown it."

Inwardly, I snorted. _Unlikely, sister dear._

"However," she said, her tone becoming more serious. "Don't let it interfere with your life, Yuni. Don't get so obsessed that you forget they aren't real."

I squirmed uncomfortably. "You worry too much, Ari," I hastily assured her. "I know exactly what's real and what isn't." _You just might not agree with me,_ I added mentally.

"Just making sure," she said.

I grinned at her, but winced when a sharp pain shot through my face. "Yowch."

Aria saw my discomfort and made a sympathetic noise. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but it's not bad."

"Let me know if it bothers you too much; I'll get you some ibuprofen if you need it."

"Thank you, Ari," I started to smile, but thought better of it and bowed my head slightly instead. "I just wish I knew why I had to get this thing in the first place." I gestured towards my eye.

Aria raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember? Mama told the us the story enough times, and I thought you of all people would remember _this_ story."

Blushing, I mumbled sheepishly, "I kinda always fell asleep practically the second she started."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You always were one to pass out when someone started talking." Ugh, why did she have to dredge up the distant past? I only fell asleep at the table four times, and just because I found the written word much more interesting than the spoken didn't mean I was trying to be rude.

"Then if you remember it, would you please tell it to me again?" I asked.

She shifted into more comfortable position and folded her hands. "Alright," she agreed. "You aught to know it anyway. It _is_ our family history after all, or so they say."

Clearing her throat, Aria began to speak in a low, musical voice. "Long, long ago, before humans ever walked this earth, there was another species that lived upon it. They were the Ancients.

"The Ancients were powerful beings, the first to harness the great power of magic. Magic was a mysterious force, allowing them to master the elements, bend the laws of space and time, even tap into other dimensions. They built a magnificent civilization where they lived in comfort and harmony, and the people were happy. However, the Ancients were not the only magical beings to inhabit the earth; they shared it with the mighty dragons."

My heart skipped a beat. Surely I had misheard her. "Did you just say dragons?" I blurted out. Then my sense of courtesy caught up with my runaway tongue and I clapped a hand over my mouth for interrupting. "Sorry, Aria."

She gave me a knowing look. "See, I told you that you of all people should know this story. It's really weird that you don't, considering the level of your obsession."

I frowned slightly in agreement. It really _was_ odd that I didn't. Before I had gone to Namimori, even thought I hadn't really believed in dragons I had still run around nagging anyone I could find to tell me a story about them. Why then did I not know my own family history that was supposedly involved with dragons, especially when Mama had told it to me multiple times?

Aria continued. "The Ancients and dragons coexisted, sharing a peace forged in wisdom that lasted many generations. But that peace was brought to an end by the discovery of World Stones, the Trinisette.

"The Trinisette were seven small stones buried deep in the earth that guided the growth and development of life while maintaining the balance between them. They were, in a sense, the foundation of the world. And the one that controlled them would, in turn, control the world as well. Both the Ancients and the dragons desired to control the Trinisette, and as a result war erupted.

"This war was so intense that it shook the very core of the earth. Ancient and dragon clashed in the skies, over the seas, on the earth. It dragged on for centuries, until in the end, they nearly wiped each other out. When the few survivors of the Ancients raised their heads and saw the ashes of their beloved world, they let out a bitter cry. Filled with a fierce hatred towards the dragons but not wishing to lose any more of their people, they went to speak to their Seer, whose name was Sepira.

"Gifted with the ability to peer into both the past and the future, Sepira told them that the brightest future she saw was one where the Trinisette resided with neither Ancient nor dragon, but in the hands of an entirely different race, one not proficient in the art of magic: man.

"Humans were but a fledgling species then, still finding their way in the world. The Ancients acknowledged Sepira's words, and arranged a meeting with the remaining dragons to discuss them. After many days of heated arguments, both agreed to pass on the power of the World Stones to another race that would hopefully care for them better than either the Ancients or dragons had.

"And so it was. The Trinisette were placed in the hands of mankind, and the long war was finally brought to an end. The surviving Ancients took it upon themselves to observe and guide the guarding of the Trinisette over the centuries, even as their numbers declined. But there was one thing that did not change: the Ancients forever harbored a burning resentment towards the dragons, whom they saw as the cause of the destruction of their beloved world. They swore to themselves that no matter how long it took, there would come a time when not a single dragon was left upon the earth. Slowly but surely, dragons were picked off one by one over the centuries until finally there were none left. With the elimination of their lifelong bitter enemies, the Ancients could truly relax and enjoy the world they had fought to protect, and in guarding the Trinisette, they found peace."

Silence fell over us in our tiny kitchen. I could hardly take it all in. Mind reeling, I put my head in my hands.

Why could I not remember this story? Why did it feel like this was the first time I had heard it? In all my research, I had never come across this tale before. If it were to be true, it would mean that the Ancients had failed in their mission to wipe out the dragons, for I knew of at least one that still soared the skies.

Aria leaned forward, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders. "The story doesn't say what happened to Sepira," she said, "But our family has always believed that after a long while, she chose to settle down and raise a family, and that we are descended from that family. Now, I'm not saying that we believe the entirety of the story, but we're fairly certain that somewhere along the line, we did indeed have an ancestor named Sepira."

I met her gaze. "What about you, Ari? Do you believe the story?"

She hesitated. "Parts of it. I don't believe another race of super powered beings and dragons, but sometimes..." she lowered her eyes. "Sometimes I do think that our family is unusually talented at predicting things."

I wasn't sure what to make of that. Prophecy didn't concern me as much as the fact that there was a chance that my family may have been involved with dragons in the distant past, but I needed a way to confirm it...

"But even if the story is true, Yuni-"

...And that meant talking to the only one who would be able to tell me the story.

"-dragons would still be extinct today."

I had to find the dragon.

"Sorry Ari, what did you say?" I asked dazedly.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Honestly Yuni, you're such a scatterbrain." She placed her hand gently over one of my own. "Just don't get your hopes up about dragons just because of some silly story I told you, okay?"

I flashed a bright smile at her despite the pain that lanced through my face. "Don't you worry about me, Aria. I won't do anything too crazy."

She giggled in reply. "Good to know."

We spent the rest of the day chatting idly and playing various games that we had lying around our house. Together we baked my (chocolate) birthday cake, and Aria helped me remove the bandages on my face later that evening. Mama and Papa didn't come home for dinner, so the two of us ate by ourselves. (I had forgotten how much fun it was to cook with Aria-we nearly burned down the house trying to fry the chicken.)

It was eleven at night, and our parents still hadn't come home. I gazed sadly at the cake Aria and I had baked and decorated together, complete with blue candles. Aria was dozing in the recliner in the living room. By midnight, I had given up trying to occupy myself, and instead stared miserably at the clock.

"They're not coming home tonight, are they?" I asked softly. But Aria had long since passed out, and there was no reply from the cake. Sighing, I stood up and fetched a blanket, which I tossed over my sleeping sister. Then I got a glass cake dome from the kitchen cabinet, removed the candles from my cake, and covered it. With one final glance at the unused candles, I went to bed.

* * *

_I was powerful._

_I flew above the earth and the sea. The sky was my domain, and I shared it with none._

_The creatures that walked on two legs held no interest to me. All I wanted was to breathe the fresh air of the skies, soar through the clouds, feel the sun on my back._

_But the two-legged ones would not let me._

_They chattered ceaselessly in my ear, calling my name, asking to talk, to discuss_ _**terms.** _ _Who did they think they were? I was of the heavens, and I answered to no one. Not even my own kin._

_How dare they speak to me?_

_I was the lord of the sky. The elements themselves obeyed my commands._

_I was mighty._

_I was master._

_I was a dragon._

* * *

Namimori's strange "visit home on your birthday" rule only allowed three days off, so at five o'clock the following morning, I rose in preparation to take the train back to school.

Aria was awake to bid me farewell. "I'm so sorry that Mama and Papa didn't come home last night," she started, but I waved her off.

"It's okay, it's not your fault," I assured her. "I'm sure they had a good reason."

She looked as if she wanted to say more, but I cut her off with a kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you for a wonderful time, Ari."

She gave me a watery smile. "Thank _you,_ Yuni. I miss you so much when you're not home."

We exchanged one final embrace before I left for the train station. Once on the train, I stared out the window, lost in thought. The past few days had been so strange. When I had gotten home nothing had seemed amiss, but the realization that all might not be well at home had crept over me the longer I stayed, and now I was almost certain that my family was hiding something from me.

Why had Aria dodged nearly all personal questions? Why were Mama and Papa almost never home? It wasn't like their jobs were particularly taxing...

I frowned. What _were_ my parents' jobs? I wracked my brains, trying to remember, but found nothing.

_What is this?_ I thought, placing a hand to my temple. _Why can't I...what kind of daughter doesn't know her own parents' occupations?_ I was positive that I had known at some point, but at the moment I simply could not recall.

I moaned softly as a wave of pain flashed through my head. It was giving me a migraine simply trying to remember what my parents did for a living. First my bedtime story, and now this. What was wrong with me? Did I have lacunar amnesia or something?

The more I thought about it, the more the pain built up in my head. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass of the window and gazed out at the flashing greenery, trying to get it out of my head. Maybe I would ask Gamma later if I had ever mentioned it to him.

The scenery hurtling by reminded me of the strange dream I'd had last night, which I'd forgotten until now. It was far from the first time I'd dreamt about dragons, but I had never actually been one until now.

_If that was really how dragons thought back then, then they were an awfully conceited bunch,_ I mused, and sighed. Memory gaps, absent parents, family issues, and now bizarre dreams. How could my life get any more messed up?

When I got back to school, I couldn't find Gamma anywhere. Slightly frustrated, I sat through the classes of the day twitching with impatience. Finally classes ended, and I raced back up to my room and pulled out the bag in the back of my closet.

Ever since the incident over the Singing River, I had prepared this bag in case I ever went searching for the dragon. In it were several changes clothes, four knives of varying types (courtesy of Professor Bel), a considerable amount of non-perishable food, a first aid kit, a compass, and most importantly, several bags of marshmallows. Judging by the fact that the dragon had eaten mine last time, I figured it might appreciate some more if I ran into it. And after the story that Aria had told me, I most definitely wanted to run into it, now more than ever. The only problem was that I had no idea where to look for it.

I had seen it twice now in the Millefiore Mountains, so it was reasonable that I start with investigating them. However, the school had a strict rule that one could not go beyond the school borders into the mountains without a teacher, and I was fairly sure that none of them were going to escort me on a wild goose chase in search of a dragon.

Then I remembered an incident that had taken place a couple of years ago. My class and I had been on a survival trek through the rocky side of the Singing River, and the ground had started shaking beneath us. We had chalked it down to an earthquake or rockslide, but when we got back to school, we found that nobody there had felt anything at all. Figuring that it had simply been a freak act of nature, most of us forgot about it. But what if it hadn't been an act of nature? What if it was because there was something living under those rocks? It was a far-fetched theory, but it was better than nothing.

I was still tired from staying up the night before, so I decided not to try anything insane that evening. Instead, I saved it for later.

The following week, Gamma had still not returned from wherever he had gone, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Despite Namimori's impressive security, I had long since discovered a secret way out of the building through the laundry chute that emptied into a small clearing. Making sure I had all of my supplies, I headed out into the chilly October night before my common sense regained control of my body.

Getting out was a tricky process that involved climbing through a maintenance shaft, launching of several marbles as a distraction for Professor Levi who was on duty that night, and the cheerful threatening of some poor second-grader that had gotten lost on the way to the bathroom.

Finally, I managed to escape the school and began to head towards the woods. It was only after I'd been walking through the dark trees for nearly an hour by the light of my flashlight that I began to question my sanity. After all, what were the chances that I would actually find anything? Then again, as long as I was already out here it didn't hurt to try, so I made my way towards the rockier side of the mountain, a little past the Cascade.

By the time I reached it, my feet were already beginning to ache, and I was freezing despite my puffy jacket and gloves. Sliding down a particularly large rock, I began to sincerely regret the fact that I was trying this at night. _I am an idiot_ , I thought sadly as I fumbled with my flashlight to see the rocks in front of me. _I have inherited all of my father's impulsiveness and none of his brains. God, I really hope I don't die tonight because of this._

My mind continued on that train of thought for some time. It was nearing three o'clock when I began to grow concerned over my level of fatigue and considered going back. I had found nothing to suggest any evidence of something larger than a squirrel living by these rocks. Perhaps this entire foolish scheme was futile.

Suddenly, my foot seemed to go through the ground. I shrieked and for a moment dangled precariously from a rock I'd grabbed ahold of as I watched my flashlight disappear into the dark depths beneath me. Then the rocks I was clinging to gave way, and I was falling. Cold air rushed by my face and my head slammed into something, and I knew no more.

* * *

The first thing I registered as regained consciousness was the light. Groaning, I opened my eyes before shielding them with my hand. The sun was shining brightly through a small hole some ten feet above me. I must have fallen through it in the dark and hit my head. It would explain the relentless pounding behind my eyes, anyway.

I glanced at the walls to see if I would be able to use them to climb back up, but there were no decent handholds to grab onto. Examining the rest of the hole, I realized that it was far bigger than I'd initially thought. The walls seemed to extend much further down, seeming almost tunnel-like. Could it be? Could I have actually fallen into the caves used by the dragon?

Finally, some luck.

Regardless of my splitting head, I was filled with a bubbling happiness at the thought that I might soon find the dragon. I rose shakily to my feet, and, hiking my bag over my shoulder, slowly made my way down the tunnel.

After a while, however, my optimism began to fade somewhat. The burning light shone through my tightly closed eyes, intensifying my headache. How hard could it possibly be to find a pure white dragon? Apparently incredibly difficult, especially considering that the entire series of tunnels seemed to be comprised of a shiny, reflective alloy that amplified even the slightest speck of light. Trying to shield my poor eyes, I blindly groped my way through the never-ending caverns until I tripped on my own foot and fell flat on my face.

"Ow-ow-ow..." Hissing in pain, I clambered to my feet unhappily. I lifted my gaze to take in my surroundings and blinked.

I was standing in a grandly spacious cavern that seemed to be filled with a soft, warm glow. The marble-like floor was very smooth and clean, with barely and clutter to be seen. The steam rising from several hot springs in the back of the cave gave the air a relaxed and sleepy quality, and I noticed that there were several large and smooth stones scattered methodically throughout the room with objects on them, as if they were tables. Then I saw the walls and the strange scrapes that dragged along them and the floor as well. The realization that I had mistakenly stumbled upon the dragon's lair began to slowly dawn upon me, and I had to quell the panic rising in my throat.

Biting my lip, my gaze toggled back and forth between the lair and the exit. I very badly wished to meet the dragon that had saved my life, but he might not be especially inclined to deal with an upstart human invading the privacy of his personal quarters. On the other hand…The table-like rocks slowly dragged my eyes back to them as if magnetized. How often would the opportunity to investigate a dragon's cave unobserved present itself?

My willpower crumbled like the walls of Jericho once the smell hit me, however. Why did this whole cavern reek of sugar? Throwing caution to the scented winds, I darted forward to the nearest rock table.

The surface was littered with stuffed lavender-colored silk bags. I picked one up, peered into it, and froze. Those couldn't possibly be…I gingerly poked one of the small fluffy white shapes tightly compressed in the bag.

They _were_.

I wonderingly drew one out of the bag and squeezed it gently before popping it in my mouth. My eyebrows flew up. They were actually marshmallows. The great and mighty sky dragon had ordinary human marshmallows stuffed away in his home.

Strolling by the other rock tables, I could see that this wasn't a random snack, either. Massive piles of sugary treats were covering the surfaces of the tables (there was some variety, but it was mostly marshmallows). I became increasingly aware of the sickly sweet scent permeating the room the further I went in and began to feel slightly woozy.

On the far side of the room opposite the hot springs I could see that walls branched off into another cave. Desperate to escape the smothering sugariness but not wanting to leave the lair just yet, I bolted for the darker area.

Inside it was much cooler, but also much dimmer. I blinked several times, trying to adjust to the abrupt shift of light. Then I realized what I was looking at and my jaw went through the floor.

Rising nearly twenty feet into the air was the greatest collection of sugary confections I had ever come across in my life.

Marshmallows.

So—many—marshmallows.

I began to tremble. Dragon or no, how could this creature have any teeth left? Or for that matter, how could it not be so overweight as to be rendered completely immobile? For it was obvious that the dragon was constantly eating the sweets, judging by the empty bags and wrappings strewn haphazardly over the floor nearly every two feet.

I began to feel that this foolhardy adventure of mine was way over my head. If a beast could consume this much sugar and live, then I was far too lowly and insignificant to stand in its presence and seek to converse with it.

Sweating profusely now, I began slowly backing out of the storage cave before spinning around and making a dash for the entrance of the lair.

Or at least, that's what I tried to do. Instead, I almost smacked into a great lavender eye nearly the size of my outstretched arm from shoulder to fingertip.

"Finished your tour of my humble abode?" a velvety voice rumbled cheerfully.

The dragon's scales were a beautiful glittering diamond-white color that was almost painful to look at, and it had a violet upside-down crown shape under its left eye that was full of good-natured amusement. Unfortunately, I barely had time to register these facts before I was seized by a terror like I'd never felt before.

_Oh God,_ I thought hysterically. _He only eats sweets. That means if he's angry at me he won't eat me, he'll…_ My mind was flooded with images of being smothered to death under a mountain of marshmallows before my headache peaked and the room started to spin, and everything went dark.


	5. Friends

_I sat perched upon the peak of the highest mountain of the land I called my home. From there it was completely quiet, with only the wind and my own heartbeat to disturb me. The world was a sea of white, clouds floating by me one moment and gone the next, always moving and changing. It was a magnificent kingdom, and I was its king._

_But even kings must deal with their upstart subjects._

_My tail twitched in irritation as I saw a flash of green break through my calm white ocean. Why had he come to disturb my peace?_

_He landed before me, the sun reflecting off the varying shades of emerald that comprised his scales._

**_You must return._ ** _The tone of his thought-projection did not suggest that this was a request, but I ignored him. Why should I heed one lower than me?_

**_The talks are resuming, and you are needed. Return._ ** _He was becoming vexed now._

_I did not move._ _**Leave me be. I am of no use to you below anyhow.** _

**_That is far from the truth. All are needed in these negotiations._ **

**_Even those who do not agree with you?_ **

**_Even them._ **

_I finally rose, stretching my limbs with a sigh._ _**You are all fools for even thinking about giving up objects of such power,** _ _I thought to him._

_He turned, spreading his wings in preparation to fly back down._ _**You have expressed such opinions before, and they have been heard. Come. We shall deliberate more upon the subject below.** _

_I narrowed my eyes._ _**Do not test me, Kikyo.** _

_There was a hint of amusement in thoughts as he replied,_ _**I would not dream of it.** _

_He dove off the side of the mountain. My claws scraped the rocks beneath me as I clenched them in anger._

_There would come a time when I would no longer have to listen to the dragons, the two-legged ones, and least of all those measly weak_ _**humans.** _

_After all, I was king, and kings inclined their necks to no one._

 

* * *

 

The ground was hard beneath me, and everything seemed rather...fuzzy. My mind was semi-functional, but I couldn't seem to get my limbs to respond to my commands.

_Why am I on the floor?_

_Ah yes. I passed out. Again._

_Papa's gonna kill me if he ever hears about this._

I would deserve it, though. No Nero would ever lower themselves to fainting, and I had done it twice in one day. Well, maybe the first time wasn't really my fault because I hit my head, but the second time most definitely was. Who else that I knew would shrink at the mere sight of a dragon?

Oh.

_Right._

Dragon.

Cave.

Marshmallows.

_Ohhh dear..._

I wasn't dead yet (or at least, I didn't think so), so I tentatively cracked open an eyelid to observe my surroundings, and found my vision filled with shining white. Both my eyes flew open, and with a strangled yelp I leapt to my knees and scrambled several feet backwards in fright.

"Oh, you're awake!" The loud voice reverberated throughout my aching head. "I thought human sleep cycles were longer than that."

_Sleep cycles?_ I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my mind, but I was finding it a little hard to focus on anything but the great creature in front of me.

I hadn't been imagining things that day over the bridge—the dragon really was the size of a small house, or maybe a shack. The great tail alone was nearly ten feet long, ending in a diamond-like tip and curled delicately around massive legs. They were sturdy, each as thick as a telephone pole and covered in glittering white scales. Its head was long and smooth, with two large curved pearly-white horns above each ear, and its lavender eyes regarded me with a fascinated curiosity.

"It's been a while since I've been around humans, so please forgive me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that humans were diurnal creatures," it said, tilting its head curiously. "Or are you perhaps narcoleptic?"

I could only stare at it in stupefied disbelief, my mouth slightly agape. I attempted to assemble a cohesive reply, but only managed a faint pathetic squeaking noise.

"You can't talk? Hmm..." Disappointment was palpable in its voice. "I do hope you're not broken. I'm not at all sure what to do with you if you are."

That snapped me out of my haze of confusion. "Please don't do _anything_ with me!" I shouted desperately, slamming my hands together and bowing low before the dragon. "I'm so sorry that I broke in, I didn't touch anything and I only ate one marshmallow and I'm so sorry I didn't mean anything by it and please don't eat me I'm so sorry I'll leave right away please don't kill me!" I knew I was babbling, but now that I had started, I couldn't seem to stop the flow of words pouring from my mouth.

Breathing heavily, I stared at the stone floor inches away from my nose and awaited its reply. For a moment there was only silence, and then a choking noise resounded across the room. Alarmed, my head snapped up to look at the dragon. Its front legs were bracing its body as it seemed to convulse, its head thrown slightly forward. Was it having a fit? Then the pattern of the choking hit me, and I realized that it was laughing.

"Did...did I say something funny?" I asked nervously.

"You-" the dragon was laughing so hard it could barely breathe. "I guess you do talk! And quite a bit, too."

My terror was slowly seeping out of me, only to be replaced by utter confusion. What was this creature that I had stumbled upon?

It inhaled deeply. "Sorry about that," it said. "It's just—the idea that I would eat you—and you apologizing so much—" it started to laugh again before composing itself. "Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you. Humans taste terrible and besides, you're far too skinny."

"Thanks," I mumbled. "That makes me feel so much better."

"It should! I heard that humans nowadays strive to be like twigs."

My verbal repertoire seemed to have run completely dry, so I rubbed my arm self-consciously instead.

Finally, I remembered my manners. "I, um... My name is Yuni Nero!" I said, bowing slightly. Mama had always taught us that bowing was considered extremely polite, and I wanted to be as polite as possible when dealing with a creature such as this. "I am very sorry that I broke into your home, it's just that I've wanted to meet you for a very long time now."

"Yuni Nero, hmm?" The dragon seemed to smile slightly. "I am Byakuran~"

At long last, I now knew the name of the being that had been a part of my life since I was a young child. _Byakuran._ It had an exotic ring to it. I wanted to say it over and over again to assure myself that it was real, but I didn't need to; I had the real thing right in front of me.

Byakuran leaned forward to get a better look at me. "You say you've wanted to meet me for some time?"

I nodded fervently.

"Odd," he mused. "Most humans don't even know I exist, so how could you have wanted to meet me?"

"When I was little, I saw you flying over my hometown, and then I saw you again over these mountains a few years later. Also, you..." I swallowed nervously. "You saved my life four years ago."

"I did?"

"Yeah...it was a little to the west of here, by the river and waterfall. I was crossing a bridge when it collapsed beneath me, and I fell. You caught and saved me."

He nibbled on a silver claw thoughtfully. "The waterfall... Er... I don't quite—no, wait, I remember!" he announced triumphantly. "Early spring, right? It was incredibly windy that day, and I was heading home when I caught the scent of marshmallows on the breeze."

"The marshmallows?"

He nodded smugly. I was beginning to notice that whenever Byakuran became happy or pleased with himself, his eyes would crinkle so that they were almost closed. It was slightly creepy yet oddly endearing at the same time.

"Yes. I flew over to where I smelled them, and saw a human holding a pack of them in its hands. The human was falling towards the river, and I knew that if it landed in the water, I'd never get the marshmallows. So, I saved them both, and ate the marshmallows as payment. Ahh~ they were delicious."

I was not hearing this. "You saved me...for the marshmallows."

"Exactly."

A twitch was beginning to develop in my right eye. I had spent the past four years idolizing the thought of a noble dragon rushing to save the life of a poor hapless human, and now that dragon was telling me that he had saved my life only because I'd had some sugar in my hands and he didn't want it getting wet.

"Well, that's comforting," I muttered. "I'm glad to know you have your priorities straight. Out of curiosity, how large of a gap is there between the value of human life and marshmallows for you?"

"Quite a large one," Byakuran said matter-of-factly. "I don't like humans very much."

"You don't?" I echoed, surprised. "Then why am I still alive?"

"Because while I may not like humans, I haven't actually spoken to one in a long time, and I'm rather bored." He leaned forward even further, bringing his head almost right before me. "Will you entertain me, Yuni-chan?"

Fighting the urge to back up, I said, "Please define 'entertain.'"

"Oh, I don't know... Make me laugh, like you did before. It's been a long time since I've laughed like that."

"Why not?"

"There's no one left to make me."

To me, this was unbearably sad. Standing here was a real, genuine dragon that should have been beloved by the entire world, but instead was entirely alone inside a secluded mountain, living off of human sweets. I felt like I wanted to cry.

"I don't know if I can always make you laugh," I said carefully, "but I can try."

Something flashed in his eyes before becoming unreadable. "Why would you do that for me?"

"Well, nobody should be alone, least of all someone like you. And I owe you my life, after all, even if it was for the marshmallow's sake."

He drew back. "You're an odd little human."

I gave a slight shrug. "My oddity is what makes me unique. Who am I to defy it?"

"Well said~" he hummed. "You know, you might actually be a lot of fun."

"I'll do my best," I promised. Then a sudden thought occurred to me. "Um, Byakuran, you're not going to try and keep me here are you?"

"Do you have somewhere else to go?"

"Yes, I go to the school on the other side of the river. I'm sure you've seen it before."

"Oh, you mean the pointy building?" he asked. "I'll take your word for it—I generally try to avoid that place. Too many humans."

"I live there most of the time, except for holidays when I go and see my family," I said. "But I'd be happy to come and see you. I mean, you're a real live dragon and I'm talking to a dragon and oh Aria if you could see me now..." I trailed off into peals of demented giggles as the reality of the situation struck me once more.

Byakuran's tail twitched. "Strange human," he muttered again. "Alright, you can go back as long as you swear to visit me every day."

"Every day!" I repeated incredulously. There was no way I would be able to get away from all my friends on a daily basis undetected. I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I won't be able to do that. I have classes and stuff, and my friends would notice me sneaking away all the time." Did he even know what classes were?

He cocked his head pensively. "Would once a week be better?"

I considered it, and nodded. "Yeah, once a week should be fine. That way I'll be able to space it out a bit, and I won't get in trouble for...being...out..." Horror began to creep over me.

"Something wrong, Yuni-chan?"

"Oh my God," I whispered faintly. "I'm dead."

"You don't look dead," he said, inspecting me.

"But I am, or at least I will be—Byakuran, how long was I unconscious after you found me?" I asked frantically.

He shrugged his large shoulders. "About an hour, I guess. Sorry, I'm not really good with time."

When I had fallen through the hole, it had been around three in the morning. Upon awakening, the sun had been directly overhead, meaning it was probably noon, and then I had passed out for another hour, and then been talking to Byakuran for another, say, half hour. Then it would take at least another three hours to get back to school. There was no way anyone wouldn't notice my absence. I was doomed.

I laughed nervously. "Okay, so maybe I'll be staying with you after all."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Ha...um, well, my school has this rule that nobody's allowed to go into the mountains beyond the school borders, and this is kinda way out," I said, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. "When I left, it was the middle of the night and I wasn't supposed to be gone long, but I hit my head earlier and now way too much time has passed."

"So... you're saying you'll get in trouble."

"Considering my teachers are homicidal maniacs, I'll be lucky if trouble's all I get."

He was silent for a moment. "Then you'd better get going," he said finally. "But if you don't come back within a week, I'm coming to make sure you're still alive. Alright, Yuni-chan?"

"Yeah, sure!" I smiled at him. Grabbing my pack from the corner, I darted towards the entrance of the lair before turning back to face him sheepishly. "Um, how do you get out of here?"

Byakuran laughed softly. "Head right once you leave," he said. "And go left on the first turn. Then just climb your way out. It should be fairly spacious, considering it's the way I get in and out."

"Thanks!" I chirped. "Oh right, I nearly forgot—" I jammed my hand into my bag and felt around before drawing out the packet of marshmallows I'd stuffed in it before I left. "These are for you," I held them out for him to see. "I thought you might like them, but now I see that you're not exactly short on supply," I added with a glance back at the storage cave.

"You brought those for me?" he said. "I'm flattered."

"You should be," I said as I placed the packet on a nearby table-rock. "I don't spend what little money I have on just anyone, y'know. Just on possible hallucinations and mythical saviors." I grinned cheekily at him.

His eyes crinkled in amusement. "A good habit. Be sure to keep it up."

Once more I turned to leave, and stopped. Chewing on my thumbnail, I wondered if I should ask him, or if he would be angry at the audacity of the request. Deciding that if he were going to eat me he would have done it already, I swallowed and spoke.

"Um, Byakuran, before I go, I was wondering if, um..." _Calm, Yuni, calm._ "You see, humans have this thing where touching something kind of makes it seem more real to us, and I was wondering—" _More like babbling, get it together girl!_ "—if I could please, um...touch you?"

"You want to touch me?"

I nodded timidly. "If that's alright, of course."

Maybe it was because I was unused to seeing a dragon, but I couldn't read the expression on his face.

"No human has ever asked me that before," he said softly.

Embarrassed, heat flooded my face and I looked down. "Y-y'know, never mind, it was a silly thing to ask anyway, sorry." I backed away.

"No, wait," he said. He lowered his head to me. "I don't mind. Go ahead."

My eyes widened with shock as I realized that I had permission. I gulped and tentatively reached out with my left hand. My fingers shook as they grazed his snout before they settled more firmly.

He was warm. I found this strange, because I had assumed that the fact that he had scales would make him cold. Instead, it felt like touching heated metal. The scales had a silky smoothness reminiscent of pearls to them, and I could feel the life thrumming through his body. It defied logic; the scales were merely meant to serve as an outer layer of protection and thus should hold no heat, and yet it was like I was touching the dragon's skin.

For a brief moment that felt like an eternity, we simply held that position: the great dragon crouched low before me, and I with my hand upon his head. It felt like a fairy tale out of the picture books I used to read a child.

Unwillingly, I withdrew my touch and lowered my hand. Bowing low, I said,"Thank you for that, Byakuran."

He straightened. "It was my pleasure. Now, you'd better get going, Yuni-chan."

I nodded and beamed at him. "Right!"

Finally, I actually left the cave. Once I got out of the tunnels, I found that it was much easier to find my way back to the school then it had been at night. It only took me a couple hours to find my way back to the Cascade, and from there it was easy going.

I ran around to the base of the wall underneath my room. One major advantage of having a room with a window that faced the back of the school is that no one noticed things like fake ivy dangling from it. The ivy had been costly, but I'd found that it helped tremendously when it came to helping me bend the school rules. Heaving myself into my room, I collapsed on my bed underneath the window with a huff. I was exhausted and wanted to just lie there until sleep claimed me, but I had to concoct some excuse for my absence before Professor Xanxus incinerated me.

I tossed my bag into my closet and went to the bathroom mirror to examine myself. To my horror, I looked like I'd just survived the zombie apocalypse. My hair was a bird's nest, my clothes wrinkled and filthy, and there was dirt all over my face that did nothing to disguise the massive shadows beneath my eyes. There was so much grime on my face that my tattoo was completely obscured. I hurriedly stripped and proceeded to splash water on my face in a half-hearted attempt to remove some of the dirt. Rubbing my face dry with a towel, I changed into a fresh outfit, threw a sweater on, and ran out of the room.

I flew through the hallways in search for Professor Spanner. Of all the teachers, he was sanest, and I would prefer to explain myself to him first and have him back me up when facing the other teachers. Then, with a little bit of luck, I would—

"Heyyyy look, it's Yuni!"

Damn.

_No, no, no,_ I thought in dismay. _Of all the people to run into, why did have to be the loudmouthed frog?_

I unwillingly turned to see the snarky school substitute and unflappable punching bag, Flan, approaching me.

"Can I help you, Mr. Flan?" I asked tightly.

He regarded me with his usual bored expression. "We didn't see you at all today, Yuni," he said. "Were you playing with the stuffed dragons in your room again?"

"That was _once_ ," I snapped, flushing. "And I haven't done it in years."

"Suuure. Well, you do look the part of damsel in distress, that's for sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You look like you fell asleep in in a fireplace. Dragons dig that sort of thing, don't they?"

"I didn't fall asleep in a fireplace! And they do _not!_ "

"Then where were you today, Yuni?"

"I, um..." Flan was one of the few people at Namimori I simply could not like. He took every single possible opportunity to poke fun at my dragon obsession, and didn't care at all what effects his words had. And I wasn't the only one to suffer his verbal abuse; no one was safe from it, even Professor Xanxus. Those moments were scary. For some unknown reason, however, he magically seemed to survive every single conversation. (Unfortunately, I also had to admit that some of the things he said were flat-out hysterical. I just wish he would cut me some slack sometimes.)

"Well, if you must know, sir, then I have to say that I did fall asleep," I mumbled, mind racing.

"Oh?"

_Keep talking, don't think, keep talking._ "Yes, it was, er, last night, you see, I had trouble sleeping. I went for a walk, but it didn't help, so I thought, maybe it would be better if I tried sleeping someplace unusual, so I ended up falling asleep in my, um, closet."

"You fell asleep in your closet," he repeated flatly. "Well, that's perfectly normal."

I nodded enthusiastically. "It is!"

He gave me a once over. "And sleeping in your closet results in your resembling Cinderella?"

"Yes. I really hate cleaning my closet, so it's accumulated quite a bit of dirt and dust over the years," I crossed my fingers behind my back and prayed that he would never get it into his head to actually investigate my spotless closet.

Flan adjusted the ridiculous frog hat that he always wore. "Mmm. Y'know, Yuni, I've seen fish that lie better than you," he commented.

I winced. "Some fish are really smart, sir."

"Unlike you, apparently."

Ouch. He was really hammering it in today. I gulped, trying to think of a better excuse, but before I could Flan suddenly doubled over, clutching his side as a loud yell blasted our ears.

"VOOOI!"

Professor Squalo removed his foot from Flan's side. The younger man straightened as if nothing had happened. "That hurt, sir," he deadpanned.

"Good," the irate professor snapped. "It was supposed to." He loomed over me, his long silver hair falling over his shoulders. I shrank back, trying to make myself as small as possible.

"Where have you been, Nero?" I received a lovely view of the teeth that have often been compared to those of a shark. "You missed almost all of today's classes."

"I was just telling Mr. Flan, sir, I fell asleep in my closet," I said brightly. I'd already dug a remarkably deep grave for myself—I might as well get in the coffin. "I'd had trouble sleeping last night, so I went into my closet and slept there. I was so tired that I only just woke up."

There was a loud _swish_ as his sword neatly sliced a lock of my hair off. "What was that?" he said in a low voice.

"Sir?"

_"_ _You fell asleep in your CLOSET until five in the afternoon?"_ he roared. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that shit?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tsk." He spun around, grabbed Flan by the collar, and dragged him down the hallway towards the staff room. "Detention, nine o'clock tonight in the kitchen," he barked over his shoulder. "You're washing the boss's dishes. And _you,_ " he said to the stoic man hanging limply in his grip. "are going to return every pair of Levi's underpants, _without_ itching powder in them."

"Aw, do I have to?"

"Fuck yes! Whatever possessed you to switch them out with sting ray patterned ones anyway?"

"They were funny."

"If they weren't kid-sized, maybe!"

"They didn't sell them in adult-size."

"So get different ones."

"You're saying that I should have switched them, then?"

"Yes! I mean—shit—no! Stop doing that!"

The sounds of their bickering faded away I stood frozen in the hallway, completely poleaxed. Had I seriously just gotten away with only a detention? I pumped my fist in the air triumphantly, and ran to the dining hall to see if I could get an early dinner. I hadn't eaten anything except a lone marshmallow since the night before, and I was hungry enough to eat Flan's hat.

Upon entering the dining hall, I was blessed to discover that the soup course was being served, and I flung myself into my seat with a sigh of relief. It was only halfway through inhaling my tomato soup did I realize who was sitting next to me.

"Gamma!" I spewed a mouthful across the table. "Sorry, sorry," I said to the girl sitting across from me and handed her a napkin. I turned back to my blond friend. "Where have you been for the past week?"

"It's nice to see you too, Yuni," he replied. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday, but I've got your present upstairs."

"Nah, it's fine," I said cheerfully. Then I slumped. "You didn't get me another stuffed dragon, did you?"

"Why? I thought you liked them."

"When I was eight! Could you please have a little originality?"

"Hey, don't get picky now. I get you those dragons out of the goodness of my heart."

I folded my arms, unamused. "Sure you do. More like guilt. And you're avoiding the question: where were you all week?"

He tensed slightly. "I was preparing for graduation."

"Oh right!" I clapped a hand to my mouth. "I totally forgot that you're graduating this year. But isn't it kind of early to be prepping already? I mean, it's only October."

Raking his fingers through his gelled hair, he sighed. "Yes, but the information I required was only available to me now, and I had to take this chance."

The graduation system, like most things at Namimori Academy, was weird. Namimori had a solid ten year curriculum. It didn't matter how old you were or when you joined the school—ten years after you came, provided you fulfilled all of the requirements, you graduated. Gamma had joined when he was ten, and he was turning twenty this year, so it was his time.

However, it wasn't only when you graduated that was bizarre—the requirements were too. You couldn't fail more than two classes, and five or more teachers had to approve you being worthy of graduating. Then there was the exam. Not the written sort, but rather a full out physical brawl. The school administrators believed that written tests didn't actually show that you'd processed any of what you'd learned; rather, only experience did.

The conditions of the exam were these: You were given your entire final year to prepare in any way you deemed fit as long as it didn't openly break the law, and the week before the exam, you were told who your opponent would be. However, you didn't fight just anyone. At the end of every school year, a certain number of alumni would assemble at the school and would test the attempting graduates by engaging them in a public battle. You weren't required nor expected to defeat your opponent, merely survive for certain amount of time, or until they or the staff acknowledged you as being worthy of graduating. Once you succeeded in graduating, you were required to make yourself available at any time to be called back to the school to participate in the exam.

"Wow," I said softly. "I didn't realize how stressful this is. Ugh, and I only have two years left!" I stirred my soup dejectedly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine. And I'm sure I will too—at least, I hope."

I laughed. "That's the spirit."

We talked until the main course was brought out. They were serving lasagna and baked potatoes that night, and I hadn't had lasagna in months. Loading my plate, I readied my fork in eager anticipation of a hearty meal.

"Oh, by the way," Gamma said, "I got back earlier today, but couldn't find you anywhere, and nobody seemed to know where you were either. Explanation?"

I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth. "Um…"

"Although I did hear a rumor that you had snuck away to play with your stuffed dragons again, but I disregarded it. I mean, I know you love those things, but I didn't think you'd miss class for them."

"Geez!" I angrily shoved the lasagna in my mouth and began to chew fiercely. "Why does everybody think that?" I demanded through a stuffed mouth. "It was _one time_ over _six years ago._ " Gulping heavily, I muttered, "I knew I should have locked the door that day."

"Everybody?"

"Yeah, I ran into Mr. Flan earlier, and he also thought I'd been with 'em."

"And were you?"

"No!"

"I'm just teasing. So what did you tell him?"

I dumped sour cream on my potatoes. "That I fell asleep in my closet and lost track of time."

He chuckled. "How did he take that?"

"Poorly. Told me that I lie worse than a fish."

"Well, you kind of do…"

I flicked a chunk of potato at him. "Shut up, please."

Avoiding it easily, he proceeded to load up his plate as well. "So where were you, actually?"

I gave him a flat look. "C'mon, Gam. I lied. What does that mean?"

He choked. "You're kidding. Again?"

A great grin broke out on my face. "Oh yeah. And the best part?" I leaned towards him. "I know his name now."

He put his fork down, staring at me in open shock. "You _spoke_ to it?"

"Him," I corrected. "Definitely a male's voice. And his name's Byakuran."

"Byakuran," Gamma repeated. He jabbed a finger in my face. "Details. Now."

Grinning like a loon, I proceeded to describe the events of my adventure with relish. After all, what are friends for, if not to regale with tales of my dazzling bravery and wit?

"I have only one word to describe you," he said after I finished.

"Like what? Heroic? Admirable? Jealousy-inducing?"

"Idiot."

…Or not.

 

* * *

 

It was another three days before I managed to return to Byakuran's cave, what with suspicious teachers, classes, and sleep deprivation to contend with. I breathed a sigh of relief when I detected the familiar sugary scent wafting through the air. I ran into the lair and there he was, curled up in the back of the cave as if he'd been waiting for me this entire time.

"Yuni-chan," he said in greeting. "You're not dead."

I shook my head. "Nope. I got lucky."

"Good. I'd hate to lose a pet so quickly after gaining it."

I stiffened. "Excuse me?" I said indignantly. "' _Pet'?_ "

He tilted his head. "Well, you're not another dragon, so I'm not sure what to call you. 'Pet' seemed most appropriate."

"Gosh, I don't know," I put my hand to my chin in a thinking pose. "How about 'friend'?"

"Friend?" he echoed. His faced twisted in what I could only describe as a frown. "I don't know…I never really had friends. Just family and acquaintances."

"Well, you can start today!" I smiled. "Because from now on, Byakuran, we are officially friends."

"Friends," he said again. "I think I might be able to manage that."

And in a slightly intimidating manner that showed off almost all of his remarkably white teeth, he smiled.

 


	6. Flames

I was wrapped in a warm cocoon of fluffy cotton candy, enjoying the feel of it rubbing against my cheek. I had worked hard to get my cotton candy. I _deserved_ my cotton candy. So why did those stupid flies keep buzzing in my ear, asking for some?

"Hey, sis."

Maybe I should just ignore them.

"Siiiiis…"

Yes, that seemed like a good idea.

"Yuni!"

Now, if only they would just shut up…

"Yuni, he's gonna kill you and I don't want blood on my clothes so _wake—_ "

A sixth sense honed by Namimori's "education" warned me about the knives flying in my direction, and I jerked awake a split second before three of them thudded onto my desk directly where my head had just been.

"Shishishi…" Professor Bel chuckled malevolently with his creepy laugh as he strode towards my desk. "Just making sure you're paying attention, Nero."

"Y-yes sir!" I gasped. Those blades had been a little too close to my face for comfort.

He yanked the knives out of the wood in one swift movement before heading back to the front of the class. I breathed a sigh of relief and slumped in my seat. Ever since I had started visiting Byakuran, sleep had become a rare treat. Combined with the fact that I was now in my two most intense years at Namimori, I was lucky that I hadn't started hallucinating. It must have been all those in-class naps, but even those came with a price, as Professor Bel had just demonstrated.

"Do you have a death wish?" I turned my head to look at my friend Nosaru, who sat next to me in History. "He's been in a really bad mood lately, sis."

"Must've been that rumor that someone saw his old butler around one of the nearby villages," I yawned.

Nosaru flicked his long pink hair out of his face. "Yeah, that _would_ piss him off," he whispered. "He's so proud that he killed his whole household, and now one's walking around on his doorstep."

"Well, it's not like his _brother_ is back from the dead or anything," I replied in hushed tones. "Of course, that's assuming you actually believe the story that he killed him."

He shuddered. "You bet I do. That guy is vicious. Did you hear what he did to Mr. Flan the other week?"

That piqued my curiosity. Anything that involved Flan was bound to have one heck of a story attached to it. "No, what happened?"

"I heard that Mr. Flan gave him a caramel apple as an apology for insulting his lineage," he said, leaning towards me. "Do y'know what it actually was?" I shook my head.

"Onion."

I cringed.

"The professor apparently took a huge bite out of it, too, 'cause he really likes them."

"Oh dear...What did Professor Bel do to him?"

"I can show you if you'd like."

Nosaru and I both jumped. Unbeknownst to us, Professor Bel had slowly made his way behind us and was fingering his knives ominously.

"No thank you, sir!" we yelped in unison.

"Shishishi...are you sure? I'd be more than happy to give you a personal demonstration."

Nosaru gulped. "We'll pass, sir."

He grinned evilly. "Then you'd better shut up now, or I'll feel obligated to."

We nodded furiously and did not make another sound for the remainder of the class.

Later, as we packed up, I examined my hair dejectedly. Ever since Professor Squalo had sliced off a chunk of it, I had been forced to cut the rest of it to match the length, and as a result it now barely covered my ears. I couldn't bring myself to cut the whole thing off though, as I loved my long hair, so I left the back long and simply tied it in a ponytail. "Hey Nosaru, did his knives chop any more of my hair off?"

He squinted, inspecting me. "Nah, it doesn't look like it."

I huffed in relief. "That's something, at least. I really don't want to have to cut it any shorter."

"What's wrong with looking like a fairy?"

"Nosaru!" I smacked his arm lightly.

He sniggered. "Aw, sis, it's so much fun to tease you."

I flung my backpack over my shoulder. "Yeah, you've made that pretty clear," I muttered. "At least my hair doesn't resemble a flamingo."

"Hey, don't be like that!" the pink-haired idiot yelled after me as I marched away. "Siiiis!"

"Fairies don't converse with puny mortals!" I called back. Grinning, I headed towards the lockers on the second floor. Classes were done for the day, and I wanted to leave for Byakuran's caves as soon as possible.

A hand grabbed my shoulder. I looked back to be greeted by the towering burly figure of Tazaru, a mutual friend of mine and Nosaru's who was in Gamma's year. He was a jovial, kind man with a crippling weakness for white chocolate and women, and shared Nosaru's habit of referring to me as "sis."

"Oh, hi Tazaru," I chirped. "What's up?"

"I heard you fell asleep in class again, Yuni," he said.

"Class literally just ended," I replied in disbelief. "How in the world did you find out so fast?"

He held up a small bit of wire. Upon closer inspection, I found that it was an earpiece. "I bugged Nosaru to find out where he hid my chocolate. I'm beginning to have withdrawal symptoms."

I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

We both looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"You're always with stick-up-his-ass Gamma, I keep forgetting that you've actually got a sense of humor," he wheezed. "Good one, sis."

"That's me!" I winked at him. "Bringing laughter and happiness to the lives of all."

He regarded me skeptically. "It's pretty hard to do that if you're passing out half the time. What's with that? You used to be the most alert one out of half the school."

"Oh, um..." I fidgeted uncomfortably. In the five months since I had met Byakuran, I had found it harder and harder to resist the temptation to go and visit him, sometimes going up to three times a week. Sadly for me, that meant I didn't sleep at all those nights, and ended up frequently passed out in nearly all my classes (never Professor Xanxus's though—I wasn't _that_ stupid). "I'm a growing girl, you see, and with all my work and stuff, I guess it just takes its toll on me."

"We all have the same amount of work, and most of us don't pass out like you do," he said. "And don't girls stop growing after they hit puberty?"

"Not all of us," I huffed. "I've still got ways to go!"

"For your sake, you'd better," he grinned, placing his hand on my head. He barely had to lift it to chest height. "Or I'll have to agree with Nosaru and start calling you a fairy as well."

I batted his hand away. "I hate you both."

"Now Yuni, we both know that's not true. So how about a little kiss to prove-"

"Pass," I interrupted, swinging my backpack into his face as I turned back around to head to my lockers again. Over the noise of his fluent swearing I said loudly, "Nice talking to you, Taz."

Aware that I was now running late if I wanted to get to eat dinner before I went to see Byakuran, I sprinted down the halls towards my lockers, bypassed my seven-step lock (having hackers as classmates could be a real pain sometimes) and dumped my things. Pausing only to stop by my room and grab my overnight bag and a pack of marshmallows, I made my way down the dining hall, scarfed down a pitiful excuse for a meal before sneaking out the front door and heading towards the setting sun.

I ran so fast that by the time the River Song came into view, I was panting hard enough that it felt like knives were scraping their way up and down my chest and throat. Sadly, even eight years of intense physical training had done little for my deplorable stamina. Apparently I was doomed to a life permanently short of breath.

Racing over the bridge that still gave me nightmares on occasion, I halted on the edge of the training clearing for P.E, hunched over and gasping for breath. I _would_ make it to Byakuran before dark, and maybe would actually get some sleep that night. It would certainly make a nice change.

Still breathing heavily, I glanced up when a bright flash of greenish light illuminated the trees surround me. What could that be? Everyone should have been at dinner, so why was someone so far out here?

I slowly crept through the foliage and peered around a large tree at the clearing. To my surprise, there was someone there, standing by himself. It was Gamma. He was holding a long cue, and several pool balls surrounded him on the ground.

I frowned. _Is he trying to improve his pool talent?_ Gamma was naturally quite gifted at pool, miraculously accurately judging the precise angle and power to strike the ball, so he shouldn't need to practice during meal times, and especially not half a mile away from the school. And that still didn't explain the flash of light I had seen earlier.

Gamma slowly shifted positions, bringing his right foot behind him and bending his knees slightly. He carefully aimed the cue at the balls as if he were at the table and took a deep breath. My eyes widened as bright green electricity crackled to life at the tip of the cue and made its way up his arm.

He took a deep breath. The lighting flared up, surrounding him, and the balls lit up as well. Closing his eyes, he tightened his grip on the cue in concentration. As if in response to his efforts, the balls began to slowly rise into the air. Gamma's eyes snapped open, and he muttered, "Electro Cutter!" before striking forwards with the cue. The electricity flashed so brightly that I was momentarily blinded. I regained my sight in time to see the balls fall to the ground in the same spot they had risen and Gamma slump over his cue in frustration.

"Damn it!" he hissed. "Why can't I get this fucking thing to _work?_ "

He clambered back to his feet and resumed his previous position. Once more lightning erupted around his cue, but I didn't stick around to see him repeat the process. I knew that if I stayed any longer I wouldn't be able to hold myself back from bursting in on him and asking what he was doing, and he wouldn't want that. Gamma hated being interrupted when he was training for something, especially if he was having difficulty with it. Instead, I ran once more for the caves, this time with more than a few questions buzzing around in my head.

 

* * *

 

Unslinging my pack from my shoulder as I strode into the cave, I yelled, "Hey Byakuran! I'm back!"

A great yawn resounded throughout the lair. "Took you long enough."

I turned to see a sleepy-looking Byakuran crawling out of the storage cave in the back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said, sidling over to the nearest rock-table and upending my bag over it. After about a month of visiting, I'd decided that if I was going to be showing up here on a regular basis after hours of walking, I should at least have something to sit on, so I'd rolled some smaller rocks into the cave to use as chairs. However, that had proven to be most uncomfortable to sit on for any prolonged period of time, so I'd snuck in some cushions from school as well. (Hopefully Professor Lussuria would never notice their absence.) "My friends kept me longer than I thought, and I saw something kind of weird on the way here."

"Weird?"

"Yeah, it was Gamma, he—Byakuran, were you sleeping in your storage cave?"

He blinked. "Yes. What of it?"

I stared at him. "Are you so completely enamored with marshmallows that you _sleep_ with them?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he snorted. "I was tired, but I was also hungry, so I went to eat something before I slept. Obviously I underestimated my fatigue."

"I know a lot of strange people, but you might just take the cake," I said, clucking my tongue. "Well, because of all of that snacking that went on, I guess you're too full for these," I waved a couple packs of rainbow marshmallows and sour belts in the air.

His eyes gleamed. "Dragons don't get full."

"But of course," I laughed, and tossed the sour belts at him. With one swift jerk of his head, he snapped the packet out of the air. His jaw worked for a moment before he delicately spat out the empty package onto the floor.

"I'll never get used to that," I said as picked it up gingerly and stuffed it in the trash bag I had in my pack. "I mean, I can't get my head around how your humongous teeth can tear something so small so perfectly _and_ get the contents out intact."

"Practice," he replied, licking his teeth clean. "And a lot of swallowed plastic. It's a good thing that virtually nothing can poison a dragon, or else I'd have been dead decades ago."

"Virtually nothing," I agreed as I pulled a tangerine out of my bag. Byakuran recoiled in disgust.

"Must you bring those abominations in here?" he complained.

"I'm definitely not eating any marshmallows, that's for sure."

"Why not? They taste so much better."

"Because while your digestive system might be an active miracle, mine is not. If I were to subsist entirely off of sugar, my arteries will clog and I will die a horrible, miserable death."

He hung his head. "Ah, you're no fun, Yuni-chan~"

I frowned. "How is not wanting to die of a heart attack at thirty not fun?"

"You could have a little..."

"Only if you have some of this," I retorted, offering a piece of tangerine to him. He shuddered.

"I'll have to pass, thank you."

I shrugged and ate it instead. "Suit yourself."

He curled up around the rock next to me. "So what were you saying about Gamma before?"

"Oh right!" I swallowed. "On the way here, I saw him in the woods. He was using his pool cue—"

"Pool...cue?"

"Um..." How was I supposed to explain what a cue was? "It's for a game—it's basically a long, pointy stick."

"I see," he nodded, pleased. "Continue."

"So, he was using his cue, and he kind of concentrated for a moment before this green lightning-type thingy lit up all around it, and he used it to lift a bunch of balls. It was really weird."

Byakuran narrowed his eyes. "Green lightning...did it seem to emanate from the cue, or him?"

I thought back. "Well, it sort of collected around the tip of the cue, but I think it came more from him."

His tail twitched in irritation. "Tch. Of course it would," he muttered. "It's not like I can live near _normal_ humans or anything."

My nose scrunched in confusion. "Huh?"

He was silent for a moment before saying shortly, "Yuni-chan, what do you know of a race called the Ancients?"

My head shot up in surprise. For five months I had been deliberately avoiding mentioning the story Aria had told me, for shortly after meeting Bykauran, I realized that I had been foolish in my wish to ask him of that tale. After all, the dragons had been on the losing side of that war and had almost been destroyed. My brilliant white friend may have very well been one of last of kind; I didn't want to dredge up painful old memories. But if he were to be the one to bring it up...

Rolling the words around in my mouth for a moment, I replied carefully, "I know that they were a race that existed before humans, and that they fought a war against, well, dragons."

I could feel the tension emanating from him; he was obviously uncomfortable with this topic, but he persisted. "Well, the Ancients were able to manipulate nature, essentially using what you humans refer to as magic. It made dealing with them rather...difficult.

"After the war though, their numbers had been greatly diminished. So they did the only thing they could to survive: they intermarried with humans, and eventually their blood became diluted throughout the generations. However, the remains of their magic can still be found in their descendants today, no matter how distant the relation. I don't believe the humans call it magic anymore, though—I think they refer to them as 'Dying Will Flames,' as they supposedly only manifest themselves in times of dire need, or near death instances."

"But Gamma wasn't dying," I interjected.

"It's possible to train yourself to summon them at will once they've been activated once," he responded. "Clearly, however, your friend is still struggling with that feat."

I sat quietly, digesting what he had told me. So the story that Aria had told me _was_ true-the part about the war, at least. Obviously she had been mistaken about the extinction of dragons, but by the way Byakuran was carefully avoiding mention of them, I had a feeling that something bad had still happened to his species.

Breaking the silence, I asked, "Hey Byakuran, is it possible that I could have those Flames you were talking about?"

He regarded me thoughtfully. "Actually, it's more than likely. Ancient blood spreads easily and does not die out, so most humans nowadays probably have the ability to conjure them. You in particular, I think."

"Eh?" I frowned. "Why me?"

"With that mark on your face, you must be her descendant, aren't you?"

"Her?"

Byakuran opened his mouth to reply, but then, as an afterthought, closed it with a snap. "Never mind," he muttered. "Forget about it."

I really wanted to ask him what he meant, but there was a cold look in his eyes that told me I would regret it if I did. Instead, I asked, "So, is there any way I could actually manifest a Flame?"

He glanced back at me. "Of course there is. Multiple, actually, but you have to possess a rather formidable amount of sheer willpower and determination to do it if it's never been triggered before. And there's always a possibility it might not work anyway," he added.

"That's okay," I said. "So what do I do?"

"Hold out your hand and concentrate," he instructed. "Focus only on your will and your wanting to make a Flame appear."

I did so, squeezing my eyes shut and thinking about fire so hard I thought my brain might pop. After a moment, I opened them to be met with an empty palm.

"I guess I'm not cut out for this," I sighed.

"Or you simply lack the determination to bring them to life," he said.

"Then what should I do? I mean, you said there are other ways, maybe I could try those?" I questioned hopefully.

He regarded me skeptically. "Are you sure you want to?"

I nodded.

He shrugged. "Your funeral, then~" He breathed in deeply, pulling his head slightly back, and I saw the inside of his mouth light up right before he exhaled with a loud _whoosh_ directly in my face.

The world turned bright white and very hot. I shrieked, leaping backwards, but as abruptly as it had appeared, the fire vanished. I sat blinking and panting heavily over a large scorch mark on the floor, completely unharmed.

"You—did you just—" The shock of nearly being barbecued by a dragon's fire breath rendered me temporarily inarticulate. Byakuran sat back on his haunches with a smug expression.

"Well, good news," he drawled. "You've got a Dying Will Flame now."

Confused, I looked at my hand and to my surprise saw a deep orange fire surrounding it. The flames traveled up my arm and extended to cover my entire body. As I watched, the flames grew fainter until they disappeared entirely.

"That was it?" I asked breathlessly. "Was that my Dying Will Flame?"

He smiled. "Yup."

I was still staring at my hand. "Did you just breathe _fire_ at me to get this to come out?"

"You said you wanted to try other means. My fire happens to have Dying Will properties, allowing it to awaken yours. Are you unhappy with the results?"

I dragged my gaze away from my hand to glare at him. "I could have _died!_ " I exploded. "Roasted. Toast. Incinerated. Poof! No more Yuni."

"Unlikely. Even if you hadn't reacted and the fire proved lethal, you would have had regret strong enough to trigger your Flames all on your own and revive you."

"Were you sure?"

"Relatively."

I flung my backpack (which had narrowly missed being turned to ash) squarely in his eye. He jerked back, blinking bemusedly.

"If you weren't so freakishly big, I'd kill you," I hissed.

"Well, you certainly have a high opinion of yourself."

I sniffed in disgust as I retrieved my backpack from where it had fallen. There was obviously no point in arguing with him—his ego was so inflated that he would never admit that he had acted rashly.

"Well, now that you have Flames," he continued, "you can learn to manipulate them as well, like your friend Gamma."

I shook my head. "I don't think I will, thanks."

His eyes widened. "Why ever not?"

"What he was doing, it looked really cool and all, but at the same time, it also seemed kind of dangerous," I said. "And he'll need it, too, once he graduates and becomes CIA or Interpol or whatever he's going to do. But me? Once I graduate, I don't plan on doing anything like that. I don't like fighting, so I'm not going to do it. I'm going to be something normal after all of this, like maybe a lawyer or an accountant or something. Anything, just...not fighting. So yes, while it would be neat to have Flames at my command and all of that, I don't want that temptation."

"That's remarkably noble of you," he said softly.

I made a face. "Eh, not really. Just boring. Some would even call it cowardly."

He shook his head. "Knowing what you want from life with that much certainty is not cowardice. You're not running from a fight, you're simply choosing not engage in one to begin with."

Glancing at him in surprise, I asked, "You really think so?"

He smiled. "Yup~"

I giggled. "Every time I think I know how you'll react, you behave in the exact opposite manner. It's kind of frustrating."

"I do try. Predictability is dull, after all."

"Can't argue with that one."

For a while after that we chattered aimlessly, discussing topics ranging from dragons' intense dislike of rain to the importance of belly button lint. He took great pleasure in poking fun at my fussing over my hair, claiming that humans' obsession with the dead cells on the top of their head was illogical and a waste of time. I countered with a speech about the ridiculousness of having scales cover every part of a dragon's body except for the most vulnerable parts, the neck and the stomach, which then led to a long discussion about the strangeness of evolution and nature itself.

Talking with Byakuran, while often times confusing (especially in regards to the topics revolving around dragons and magic), was one of the most enjoyable experiences that I had. He made me feel like I as person was worth something, like everything I had to say, no matter how silly, was still worth saying. This was a feeling that my life at Namimori lacked, for everything about that place was focused on survival, not the individual's needs or self-esteem. He was also incredibly intelligent, and I was never bored while talking to him.

The only negative part of any of this was that my enthusiasm had led to the development of the rather unfortunate habit of losing track of time. To counter this, I set an alarm on my watch to alert me when it was three in the morning, so I would have time to get back and still get a couple hours of sleep.

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

Both Byakuran and I jumped, glaring at my watch. It was beginning to feel like it was beeping earlier every night.

"Already?" he whined. "Why do you always have to go so early?"

"I set it as late as I could," I sighed. "Remember, I'm not allowed to be out here, especially at night."

"I know, I know." His face twisted into what I could only describe as a pout. A pouting dragon—the sight was so odd I wanted to laugh, but didn't in case it would offend him. I was still getting used to his many expressions, and he seemed to come up with new ones every time I came. "It's just that you're the only person I actually talk to anymore."

His voice was tinged with the wistful tone that only really came when it was time for me to leave, and it always made me feel like scum of the earth for doing so. But what choice did I have? If I could have, I would be spending all my time there.

"Oh right!" I yelped as I was about to leave. "Next week spring break starts, so I'll be able to visit you for a lot longer."

He tilted his head. "But I thought you always go home for breaks," he said in confusion.

"I do, but..." I scratched by head awkwardly. "I can't seem to get ahold of my parents or Aria, so I don't really know what to do aside from stay at Namimori."

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't you find it odd that you can't get in touch with them?"

I shook my head. "No, I understand that they're busy..." I trailed off and gave a little helpless laugh. "Of course I do, but I don't know what to do about it. There are a lot of things going on at home that are bothering me, but I can't get any answers, so there's not much point in stressing over it. Not too much, anyway."

"Doesn't your school excel in teaching how to gather information?"

My eyes widened. "I could never spy on my own family!" I exclaimed, shocked. The one time I had gone through Aria's sock drawer looking for candy had filled me with such intense guilt that I had confessed immediately afterwards and cried for nearly an hour.

"But you do have the means," he pressed.

"Yes, but I won't," I said stubbornly. "Privacy is something we hold very sacred in my family." Over the years, I had trained myself to overlook the irony in that fact as I attended (for all intents and purposes) a spy school, but every now and then the hypocrisy of my situation smacked me in the face, like now.

But Byakuran didn't say another word about it, as if he knew how uncomfortable the conversation was making me.

"Well, if you don't have anywhere else to go, you could always stay here," he offered.

"Huh?"

"You come here often enough. If you brought in the things you'd need over the next week, you could stay with me. I mean, if you want to, of course," he added, avoiding my gaze.

A grin slowly spread over my face. "Byakuran, you're a genius!" I yelled, running over to him and throwing my arms around his neck. He was so large it would have taken four of me to go all around it, but neither of us cared. "That would mean I would get to hang out with you _and_ sleep at the same time!"

He laughed. "Glad I could help. In fact," he said as I broke away, "I think I'll plan a little something special for you. You know, as a consolation for not being able to go home."

"Really? Aw, thanks Byakuran, you're the best!" I didn't tell him that spending time with him would be enough of a consolation—I didn't want to seem cheesy.

His tail curled smugly. "Of course I am, Yuni-chan~"


	7. The Fifth Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So. I have excuses (APs, finals, family events, etc.) but I doubt you want to hear about them. I'll just say that I rewrote this chapter four separate times and didn't like it. This was the best result. I'm still not thrilled, but I felt so bad for pushing it off that I posted it anyway. Lemme know what y'all think, okay?

_The fifth time I saw you, you let me fly above the world._

The following week was one of the fastest yet slowest weeks of my life. On one hand, I was so busy with pre-break exams (it's official: the designers of the educational system were sadists on steroids) that I felt like I barely had time to breathe, but at the same time I couldn't wait for it to be over so that I could have my uninterrupted two weeks with my mythical friend.

Finally, the day before vacation arrived. I stood in the middle of my room, giving it a final glance over. I'd spent virtually every spare moment I had over the past week sneaking out supplies to a drop off point for Byakuran to pick up so I wouldn't have to haul them two and half miles. I had my backpack and small suitcase by the door, stuffed full of marshmallow packets and containers of instant noodles. Biting my thumbnail, I went over my mental checklist:

Inflatable mattress and pump—gone first day.

Sleeping bag and pillow—also gone first day.

Camping stove—that one had been tricky; I'd had to bribe Professor Spanner with three jumbo packs of lollipops to borrow it, but I got it in the end.

Clothes—Byakuran's eyes nearly popped out when he saw how much I'd brought. He went on this whole rant about how utterly ridiculous humans were for having so many "pelts," but I just threw an apple at him and went on my merry way.

Toiletries—The most unpleasant aspect of this whole idea. I didn't care how much the dragon complained, I _was_ going to find a shower. Somewhere, somehow, even if I had to break into school to get it. I could always brush my teeth by some stream, but bathing...in spring, those things were _cold._ I was NOT getting hypothermia on this trip. And as for how I was gonna go to the bathroom... I preferred not to think about it.

Books—Not long ago, maybe about a month or so, Bykauran had mentioned that he loved stories. The more outlandish and complex it is, he said, the better. I decided that since we were going to have some serious time to ourselves, why not bring along some human books? He'd told me that he'd managed to read Shakespeare at some point (don't ask me how), so instead I dug out my old copies of _The Lord of the Rings_ and _Harry Potter_ with the intention of introducing him to worlds that he would never forget.

Food—Of all the things I'd needed to acquire, that by far had been the hardest. Considering I had zero interest in living off of sugar for the next two weeks, I'd had to steadily sneak out non-perishable foods from the kitchens without being seen, and had some very close calls. One time Professor Lussuria caught me loading boxes of crackers into a bag, and I ended up making up a story about a "poor, starving, lost dog wandering in the woods." (I think the only reason he didn't haul me up to the principal was because he was late for dinner and simply didn't care enough.) Another night I almost walked straight into Professor Levi stuffing his face with pie at one in the morning.

I know, my luck's positively unnatural. At least Byakuran had promised to take me down to the nearest village a couple times to get some fiber and protein in my diet.

I spun around in a happy circle and exited my room, grabbing my luggage on the way and humming cheerfully. I had all my supplies prepared, had told my teachers that I was going home for break, and had said goodbye to all my friends. There was nothing to go wrong.

Note to self, Yuni: Never, _ever_ say that.

"Sir, what do you mean I'm not going anywhere?"

I stood at the front desk in front of a very nervous Shoichi Irie and irate Professors Squlao and Mammon. I'd gotten within six feet of the main doors before I heard the sharp bark of: "Nero!" before I was informed that I wasn't leaving the building for break.

Professor Squalo narrowed his eyes. "Exactly what it sounds like," he snapped. "You didn't sign up to leave, so you're not."

I frowned. "Um, sir, I did sign up. Last week," I reminded him.

"You gave an obviously ridiculous excuse for leaving," Professor Mammon said in her usual quiet fashion. "Illegitimate reasons do not suffice."

"Why is going home to visit my _parents_ for break considered an illegitimate reason?" It _was_ illegitimate, but my teachers should have no way of knowing that. After all, even I didn't know where my family was.

"Because you'd be going to an empty house, your parents aren't even—" Professor Squalo broke off abruptly, glancing at Professor Mammon. My gaze flickered back and forth between the two of them in confusion. The silver-haired math teacher was looking decidedly uncomfortable and shifty, as if he had said something he wasn't have supposed to. And while I couldn't read Professor Mammon's expression because of her hood, I saw that her mouth had thinned at her colleague's outburst.

My mind was racing. Professor Squalo clearly knew my parents weren't home, but did he know the reason? And if he did, why wouldn't he share it? I desperately wanted to find out what he knew, but my asking would be tantamount to admitting that my parents were absent, and I wouldn't be permitted to leave.

Mentally, I weighed the consequences of each option. If I A: asked Professor Squalo to tell me what he knew, then I might learn about my parents' whereabouts and something about what they actually did for a living. However, I would lose my two weeks with Byakuran that I was desperately longing for. On the other hand, if B: I stayed silent, I wouldn't learn anything knew, but I would get my time with Byakuran. And considering there was a chance that even if I did ask about my parents I wouldn't receive an actual answer, I decided to go with option B, where I was guaranteed to not lose out. So, I played dumb.

"Sorry, sir? What was that?" I asked.

Professor Squalo opened his mouth to say something, but closed it just as quickly. He seemed to be grasping at straws. Finally, he managed to grind out, "Are you sure you're supposed to home this break? As in one hundred percent absolutely sure?"

I gave him my best smile. "Of course I am, sir! Why wouldn't I be?"

He didn't reply right away, but instead glanced at Professor Mammon once more. Seeing his lack of forthcoming speech, she answered smoothly, "We were under the impression that your family was going to be elsewhere this break."

"That's weird," I said, rubbing my chin. "I don't know why you would have been told that. Of course they're going to be home—where else would I go?"

"Where else indeed..." she murmured.

I waited anxiously for either of them to say something else, but in vain. Finally, I coughed awkwardly into my fist and said, "Well, if that'll be all, Professors, I guess I'll be going."

As I turned I saw Professor Squalo's gloved fist tighten momentarily, but aside from that he did nothing. Professor Mammon cleared her throat.

"Oh, Nero, one more thing."

 _Damn._ "Yes, sir?"

"Would you happen to know where the red pillows from the teachers' lounge are? Lussuria is going mad looking for them."

My palms broke out in a sweat. For an instant, all I could see was the image of Byakuran's brilliant flame and those pretty pillows going up in smoke. Why, why, _why_ did the four pillows I chose have to belong to the pickiest of all the faculty? I should've known from the red peacock feathers lining the exterior that they were the wrong ones to take.

(In my defense, the teachers' lounge has so many pillows you could throw a toddler down from twenty feet and they'd just bounce, but of course I would take the four out of one hundred whose absence would be noticed.)

I swallowed. "Um...no?"

Her mouth twisted. "You don't sound too sure."

"No, I mean, absolutely not!" I yelped, snapping a salute. (Rule #8 of surviving at Namimori Academy: When in doubt, salute.) "Haven't the faintest clue where they are, sir!" Technically that was true—the smoke they'd evaporated into was far beyond my means of locating.

"Mm. Well, if you do happen to locate them, be sure to inform Lussuria immediately." And with that, she turned her back on me completely and began needling Secretary Irie about the price of his new spectacles.

I held my breath for a moment, not sure if I was free. However, Professor Squalo merely shot a suspicious look at me before stomping down the corridor and neither of the staff in front of me even acknowledged my presence. I slowly backed out the front door before running down the steps and out into the woods.

As I ran, I tried to deal with the nasty feeling that was growing in the pit of my stomach. Clearly there was a lot more going on at home than I was aware of, but I had no idea what to do about it. Ever since I'd been sent off to Namimori my relationship with my parents had somewhat withered, but my connection to Aria had remained strong.

Aria. What was my sister doing? In the eight years I'd been gone, she was always available every time I picked up the phone to call her, no matter what crazy time of day (or night) it was. This was the first time I was unable to contact her, and that bothered me far more than whatever my absent parents were up to.

The bad feeling was spreading from my stomach and had begun to crawl up my throat. Fed up, I ground to a halt, headed for the nearest tree, and bashed my head sharply into it.

_Smack!_

For a moment, all I could see were stars, but then my vision began to clear. I shook my head determinedly. _Nope,_ I thought. _Nope, you are_ done _with this, Yuni. You are going to stop worrying, stop virtually making yourself sick. Yes, you're worried about Ari and Mama and Papa, but there's nothing you can do about it so STOP._

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. Cracking my knuckles, I exhaled with a loud _whoosh_ before jumping in my spot and setting off again. Yes, why should I worry? After all, I was going to see Byakuran in a few minutes, and I was going to get to spend a whole two weeks with him. Nothing should mar the joy of this moment.

Not even the realization that thanks to my rampant thoughts, I had no idea where I was.

"Seriously?!"

 

* * *

 

Finally, I reached entrance to the caves and grumbling to myself, stomped through the tunnels. My hands flew to cover my ears as a piercing yowl echoed through them.

"You're late!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry," I mumbled, entering Byakuran's cave. It had taken me a half hour to properly regain my bearings and figure out where I was before embarking on the journey towards the tunnels; as a result, I ended up being over an hour late. "I got lost."

"Lost?" Byakuran hissed. He moved swiftly from the shadows of his cave to where I was standing and before I knew it, he had pinned me to the ground with a gleaming silver claw. "You've been coming here for months! How could you get lost?"

I struggled fruitlessly against the unmoving dragon claw holding me down. "I was...distracted?"

He growled. "A likely story. You were having second thoughts, weren't you?"

"What? No!" I halted my pawing at his claw to stare up at him in shock. "Of course not! I was really looking forward to this, remember?"

"You say that, but that doesn't mean it's true."

"Byakuran, what's the matter with you?" I asked uncertainly. "You know I wouldn't lie to you. Why on earth would I? Please, calm down!"

He leaned forward so that the hot wind of his breath blew my hair back, his head mere feet away from me. "Do you not want to be here? Do you want to be with your _human_ friends?"

"Byakuran—" I didn't know what had him so worked up, but it was obvious that words weren't going to get through to him easily. Instead, I lifted up my left arm (the only one I could move) and gently rested it on the tip of his snout. Looking him straight in the eye, I said quietly, "Please calm down. You're starting to scare me."

He froze, holding my gaze. His lavender eyes were wild, filled with anger and panic. "Just breathe," I said gently. "Breathe. I'm not going anywhere."

A harsh exhale buffeted my face. "Promise."

"I promise," I said, stroking him softly. "Don't worry, alright?"

He swallowed heavily and withdrew, removing his claw and freeing me. Shuffling a little back into the cave, he looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry," he said.

I clambered to my feet. "It's okay."

He breathed deeply. "No, it's not. I shouldn't have lost my head at you like that."

"I'm serious," I said, waving my hand at him. "It's a dragon thing, right? It's not like you can help it."

He tilted his head warily. "What do you mean by that?"

"I read it in a book! It was...um...oh, right! It was _A Guide to Insanity: The Behaviors and Personalities of Mythological Creatures._ It went on this whole super-long rant about how dragons are really possessive of things they claim as their own."

"Did it now?"

"Yeah, I can even quote it for you," I exclaimed, straightening and raising my finger in a preacher's pose. "Ahem, now, if I'm right, it went something like this:

_'In olden days when the majestic dragon supposedly roamed the skies, they were among the most intelligent of beings, but they were slave to their deepest nature, like any other beast of the earth."_

"'Beast of the earth?'" He interrupted indignantly. "We were _rulers,_ not some prissy wild goats!"

I held my hands up defensively. "Hey, I didn't write the thing."

Byakuran scratched his ear discontentedly, mumbling something about idiotic humans. I ignored him and continued.

_"'Possessiveness is what drove them. They were filled with a burning need to collect, to salvage, and to hoard all that they could. And when they claimed an item, it would be theirs for all time. None would be able to wrest it from them without slaying the beasts.'"_

"There's that word again," he muttered.

"Hush, you. The book went on to talk about how dragon's emotions, including their clinginess, were tied to the months: in winter they were passive and meek, and grew stronger as spring grew, culminating in summer. And it _is_ spring now, so I guess you're just moody."

"I…" His ears drooped in a forlorn manner. "I haven't been that debased in centuries. I hate humans."

" _All_ humans?" I asked innocently.

He gave me a soft look. "No, not all. Just most."

"That's better. Now, are you gonna let me further in, or am I supposed to stand here for the next two weeks?" He blinked in surprise and backed up.

I took a good look at the cave. In preparation for my arrival, Byakuran had rearranged the previously random positions of the stones in his cave so that they were now in a neat row in the back near the hot springs.

My eyes lit up. The springs! I had forgotten all about them. They were the reason that Byakuran's cave was always warm no matter the season, but in my months of visiting I had simply ignored them and taken the warmth for granted. But now… My bath problems were solved. I no longer had to worry about dying in the River Song in order to clean myself—I had three large hot springs right here in the cave.

"Bless your choice of living quarters," I squealed to my friend as I ran over to inspect them.

"What does _that_ mean?" He asked as I passed, but I ignored him. The springs smelled slightly of sulfur, making my stomach churn, but I could get used to that. I cautiously dipped a finger in one, and withdrew sharply with a slight yelp. The water was hot, but not enough to melt the flesh from my bones, which was what I was worried about.

I glanced back and grinned at Byakuran. "It means you have the best cave ever. Period. All it needs is room service and we're in heaven."

He blinked at me. "Room service?"

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind."

I set about busily establishing myself in the cave. Using the rocks in the back, I set up my camping stove together with all the packaged food I'd brought along. Byakuran sat near the entrance loudly munching on the jumbo jawbreakers I'd brought for him.

"Hey, Yuni-chan," he asked thickly around the candy. "Can all humans do what you did back there? Quote passages from books like that?"

"Nah," I replied. "Nosaru often complains about how I have an unfair advantage in class due to by ability to quote verbatim."

"So it's something you're born with."

"Not really. My papa made me memorize huge chunks of literature almost as soon as I could read. He said I'd never know when I'd need to remember something important." My hands halted in their unpacking of my things as I thought of my absent father. Byakuran, sensing my distress, swallowed the last of the jawbreakers with a loud gulp and rose, heading out of the cave.

"Well, don't dwell on somber things," he said amiably. "Now, do you happen to have any rope?"

I frowned. "Yeah, somewhere in my things."

"Good, get it out. Oh, and get some sort of face covering while you're at it. Then come with me. I want to show you something that I've been meaning for you to see for a while now."

Curious, I dug out my rope and ski mask, abandoned my things, and trotted along after him.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we walked through the tunnels towards the exit.

"You'll see~" he called back merrily.

I followed him out of tunnels and into the forest for a good while until we came to a large, empty field. For some reason, it was a lot warmer here than it was down by Namimori; even the breeze was somewhat mild (or at least it didn't feel like it was going to give my nose frostbite). There were a few patches of snow still lingering on the ground with tiny yellow flowers peeking out of the frozen ground by my feet.

Byakuran strode to the center of the field and sat down on his haunches, looking at me expectantly.

"Well?" he demanded. "What are you waiting for? Come here."

"You know, this is really suspicious," I informed him as I made my way towards him, carefully avoiding treading on any of the new flowers.

"I'm sure to your tiny little human mind, it is," he responded lightly. "But don't worry Yuni-chan, all will be made clear in but a mere moment's time~"

 _Sure it will,_ I thought exasperatedly. _And then I'm probably going to be fed to a giant marshmallow or something._

I planted myself before him. "Now what?" I asked. "Are we going on a magical adventure to the moon?"

He chuckled. "Nothing so drastic, I'm afraid. Just a little sightseeing. Now climb on." He jerked his head towards his back.

I blinked. "Eh?"

"You should be most comfortable in between the spike at the base of my neck and the first on my back. You can tie yourself to that one with your rope. Hurry up, hop to it. I don't want to spend all day standing here."

"Y-y-you want me to _ride_ you?" I stammered.

He rolled his eyes. " _Yes,_ but I'm tempted to change my mind if you take any longer. Now get on!"

Hesitating only for a moment longer, I gingerly placed my foot on his tail to hoist myself onto his back. I wasn't really sure what to think. In the five months I'd known Byakuran, he'd been very particular about when and where I could touch him. The dragon was such a proud being the he was loathe to let any sort of creature touch him, let alone sit on his back. I didn't know what had changed, but he had obviously been planning whatever was about to happen for some time now. What was different about me?

My gloved fingers scrabbled against his smooth white scales, desperate to find some purchase in their tightly compressed clefts. The sun reflecting off them impaired my vision considerably, making it even harder to climb. I gripped the scales underneath the spike I needed to grab, but my foot slipped as I lifted myself and with a squeal, began to fall. But as I did so, my loose foot hit something.

I glanced down in surprise and saw that Byakuran had twisted himself so that his head was directly underneath me and had caught me as I fell.

"You are the clumsiest creature I've ever encountered, and that includes dragon hatchlings," he commented amusedly. "I thought your school was supposed to cure this sort of thing?"

"Sorry!" I squeaked. "I'm so sorry Byakuran, I'll just—"

He cut me off with a jerk of his head, bumping me a good six feet into the air, and I landed on his back with a jolt that knocked the wind clean out of my chest.

"That's better," he announced. "Now strap yourself in—you don't want to fall off with what we're doing."

Gasping like a fish out of water, I anxiously fumbled with rope and tied myself to the largest spike on his back, right at the base of his neck. Nearly three and half feet tall and deadly sharp, it was a pearly white with a luminescent sheen that resembled marble. I finished tying the knot and slumped against the spike with relief.

"Can I relax now?" I mumbled.

He tilted his head, considering. "Probably not."

"Great. Welp, what's next?"

"Cover your face."

I jammed the ski mask over my head.

"And you probably want to hold on very tightly."

"How co— _hurk!_ " I broke off with strangled intake of breath as Byakuran's whole body tensed, spreading his wings to their fullest and leaping into the air with one great bound.

The world tilted dizzyingly and rushed forward with frightening speed, threatening to rip me from the rope's clutches. For a moment my stomach seemed to drop out from my body until it returned with full force. I tried not to vomit inside my mask (as that would be beyond freakishly gross) and instead closed my eyes tightly, latching onto the spike in front of me with all my strength.

Everything pressed down on me at an angle, reminding me of the time of the time that Byakuran had saved me over the Cascade. In fact, this felt remarkably similar. Really, really similar.

_Wait, he didn't—_

My eyes flew open just as Byakuran leveled out and began to glide over the forest, clearing the mountain.

Glide.

He was flying.

_I was flying._

The queasiness in my stomach evaporated instantly as I took in what I was seeing. The land beneath us was a rushing sea of green and white as we flew over the trees beginning to revive after winter. Mountainsides passed by in a blur. The sun beat down from above and bathed everything in a hot, bright light that contrasted wonderfully with the freezing wind that buffeted me about. Byakuran flew much slower than he had the first time when I'd been held in his claws, so that I would be able to actually appreciate what was going on around me.

He inclined his wings and began to climb the air once more, going even higher and heading for the puffy white clouds that dotted the vast sky above us. With several beats we were enveloped in wisps of cloud that streamed by us. Delighted, I stretched out my hand to touch some, but it was like trying to hold a moonbeam in my hand. I didn't care. I was caught up in the moment, the feelings of sheer bliss and joy that were surging through me. Was this something that Byakuran felt every time he flew? Then to be a dragon was a wondrous thing indeed.

The bubble of happiness that began in my chest slowly made its way up my throat until it burst in a gale of raucous laughter. Flinging my hands out, I tore the ski mask off my face so I could see better and laughed and laughed and laughed until I could laugh no more. Then Byakuran pitched forward in a dive and I grabbed onto the spike in front me once more, still grinning away. I was so happy I almost didn't even notice the orange flames flickering wildly around my body, far brighter then they had been the first time I'd seen them.

Dipping out of the clouds, Byakuran once again evened out, and I saw that we'd cleared the mountains and were now flying low over a sparkling, deep blue lake that stretched out for several miles. I leaned over cautiously and saw the reflection of my friend's pale white underbelly and my own amazed face peeking over the side rippling as we wheeled about.

I wasn't sure if he could hear me, but I still yelled as loudly as I could, "THIS IS AMAZING!"

Apparently dragon ears are much stronger than human's, because he threw his head back and let out a great jet of flame in reply. It washed over me so fast that I barely felt it for more than a moment. Irritation pricked me for an instant that he would engulf me in flame without the basest regard for my life _again,_ but nothing could distract me from the joy of the moment for very long.

Wheeling and soaring, Byakuran carried me across nearly half the mountain before arcing slowly and heading back towards where we'd started. My stomach tingled with weightlessness as a he descended upon the clearing. He landed gracefully with a light jolt and tucked his wings back in. Turning his head around to look at me, he asked eagerly, "Well, Yuni-chan? What did you think of your first real flight?"

Weak-kneed and trembling from excitement, I slumped against the spike in front of me and fiddled with the rope around my waist. Swallowing heavily, I shook my head mutely, too overwhelmed to speak just yet. I finished undoing the knot and slowly slid down his side to collapse onto my knees, breathing heavily.

"That was," I whispered hoarsely, "beyond words."

"So…you liked it?"

" _Liked_ it?" I was beginning to regain my voice. "Can we do that every day?"

He smiled, his eyes slanting closed with genuine happiness. "If you want, Yuni-chan~"

Laughing delightedly, I flung my arms around his snout in a warm embrace. "Thank you, Byakuran."

"It was my pleasure."

After that, we returned to the cave. I wanted to go exploring with Byakuran, but he insisted that I'd had enough excitement for one day and that I should calm down. I suppose he was right, too; I had no appetite and could barely sit still, so I set about establishing myself in the cave. I set up all food related items on a particularly large stone in the back, my clothes and bags near the springs, and my sleeping bag and mattress in the far corner right next to where Byakuren slept. I was a little nervous in asking him if I could, but to my surprise he seemed rather pleased with the idea.

Despite my abundance of energy and enthusiasm to finally have the freedom to converse with my best friend for an unrestricted amount of time, evening had barely dusted the mountain with its gentle fingers before I managed to force down a bit of food and passed out cold on my little cot.

It was strange: normally when I'm as exhausted as I was that day, I slip into a dreamless sleep where time barely seems to pass. Yet for some reason, that night I had one of my clearest dreams yet.

 _They surrounded me, those chattering little insects with their whining voices and sweaty bodies. They thought that just because they had acquired some paltry magic tricks that they could stand on_ my _level, but they were sadly mistaken. They would rue the day that dared deem themselves worthy of being considered equals._

_I shifted unhappily, longing for the quiet solitude of the mountains and the grandness of the open sky. But I could not leave, not as long as Kikyo watched me like the hawk he was. He had somehow managed to convince myself as well as over thirty other dragons to attend this meeting while they otherwise would not, but it was only a matter of time until we escaped._

_One of those brutes, an Earthbound underling, addressed us. "Will you take our offer into consideration?"he asked, his voice high-pitched and grating. "The Trinisette would spend a year in each other's territories, and be willingly handed over at each summer solstice. It is more than generous," he added impudently._

_A low growl crept from my throat, and I was not the only one to reflect disagreeing sentiments. Across the fields where we had gathered, many of my kind expressed their dissatisfaction. To my left I could see Bluebell tossing her shining aqua head in the air derisively, and in the distance I could make out the image of Zakuro muttering discontentedly to Iris. The Earthbound too, wore expressions of distaste and suspicion. But the leaders of the negotiations, the man Kawahira and my brother Ghost, seemed pleased with the arrangements. To them, once the agreement was made and sealed, they would be able to oversee their respective races and ensure that peace and prosperity reigned._

_But I knew better._

_My fool brother may have been an idealist, but I knew that the dragon race as a whole would never lower themselves to actually work together with the inferior Earthbound. At least, not for long, and especially not after so many of us had lost their lives to this war. The only reason we had even agreed to this farce was out of respect for my brother as a dragon and a warrior._

_Ah, Ghost. He had always been soft, even as a hatchling. Choosing to frolic in the fields with Earthbound like some stray puppy rather than learn to hunt and spending far more time with them then he ever had with us. When the war over the Trinisette had broken out, his heart had been torn asunder over the two races he loved. Many had doubted his loyalty to his own race, but they were proved wrong when he single-handedly slew over two hundred of the Earthbound in a fierce battle. From then on they regarded him with awe and respect._

_Only I had seen his grief over his actions in the following weeks, and I knew that he would try to reach a truce somehow. But even I had not foreseen this._

_It would seem to work for a while, only to rear its ugly head and devour them from the back._

_And I would sit on the sidelines and watch with glee._

I gasped and bolted upright in my cot, soaked in a cold sweat. For a moment I didn't know where I was and had brief moment of panic, but then my eyes settled on the great shape of my white friend curled up along the wall beside me. I breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down, but did not fall back asleep immediately.

What was with these disturbing dreams? I definitely wasn't myself in them, and I was dreaming about dragons that I had never seen before or heard of. I shivered and rolled to the side, trying not to dwell on the feelings that I had experience in the dream. Whoever I was in the dream had not been a kind being, and was filled with contempt and a general dislike for the rest of the world. Closing my eyes once more, I prayed silently that no more of these strange dreams would plague me, and fell back into an uneasy sleep.

 

* * *

 

Following that first momentous occasion of my first flight, our friendship became stronger than ever. I don't know why he lowered himself to allow me to ride on his back, and I didn't ask. I trusted that he had his reasons, and if he wanted me to know he would have told me.

The next two weeks were some of the happiest of my life. Byakuran took me exploring around the mountain, investigating everything from collapsed caves to new trees to silent creeks winding through the rocks. We stayed up late into the night as I read to him from the various books I'd brought, and he would return the favor by telling me stories from his life of the various people and places he'd encountered. Several times he brought me down to the nearest town at the foot of the mountains to restock on food and I'd bring him the sweets of his choice that he'd loudly much on as I ate my dinner. He even took me hunting with him once (shockingly, he did _not_ live entirely off of sugar) and I introduced him to his first seasoned deer.

He also took me flying again four more times in those weeks, and each time was as thrilling as the first. The sensation of soaring across the sky, unimpeded and free, was such a unique and wonderful experience that at times I felt like I understood what my mysterious dream self had been thinking; it really was like I was the ruler of the skies up there.

But what we did most of all in those glorious days was talk. More words came out of my mouth during that time than I think they had in my entire life. We talked of nature, from why insects buzz to the inside of a rattlesnake's tail. Philosophy, ethics, history, and general nonsense were discussed in open fields, dense forests, and over crystal clear lakes. We spoke so much that sometimes my throat would run dry like a well in a desert and emit only hoarse croaking noises. And yet, even with the amount of conversation exchanged, we never spoke once of dragons. It was the one topic he would carefully steer clear of, and while I respected his privacy, sometimes the curiosity within me was almost painful.

All in all, by the time the end of break rolled around, I took as long as I could gathering my things. If not for the fact that I was running out of supplies and desperately needed to wash my clothes, I might have refused to go. Even so, Byakuran had to practically kick me out of his cave before I actually set off back to school.

Regardless of my displeasure at leaving, however, I had still had the time of my life, and it showed. For at least a week after school resumed people kept asking me what I'd done on my break to make me so happy but sadly I couldn't tell them. The teachers noticed my lingering joy as well. I felt their suspicious gazes on my for some time, but as before, they couldn't openly admit that they knew I hadn't gone home. Instead, they simply asked the only question they could:

"How was your break, Nero?"

I thought about the conversations, the laughs and sleepy reading of books, the hunting and fooling around, about soaring above the world on diamond wings, and smiled.

"Pretty good, sir."

Humming cheerfully to myself, I headed to my next class.


End file.
